071 


GIFT   ©F 


A  VIEW  OF  THIS  BOOK 

IX    PROOF-SHEETS. 

As  our  last  form  was  going  to  press  we  received  the  following  note  from 
a  Minister  of  the  Gospel  of  this  city,  whose  name  is  widely  known,  and  ns 
widely  respected,  both  in  Europe  and  America. 

A.  S.  BARNES  &  BUEE,  Publishers. 

NEW  YORK,  Oct.  1, 1S62. 

Inscrutable  "  Dixie !"  your  "  adversary  has  written 
a  book,"  as  damaging  to  Rebeldom  as  the  Monitor  to 
the  Merrimac.  The  secrets  of  Rebel  counsels  and  re 
sources  have  been  well  concealed,  while  National  plans 
have  been  penetrated  by  traitorous  eyes  and  revealed 
by  treasonable  tongues.  At  last  the  vail  has  been  up 
lifted,  and  we  have  more  of  valuable,  reliable  informa 
tion,  as  to  the  internal  condition  of  Jeff-dom  and  its 
armies,  than  has  leaked  out  since  the  fall  of  Sumtcr. 

"  Thirteen  Months  in  the  Rebel  Army"  gave  "  An 
Impressed  New  Yorker"  rare  opportunities  of  knowing 
what  is  to  be  known  outside  of  the  Richmond  Cabinet. 
Let  a  sharp-witted  young  man  make  his  way  from 
Memphis  to  Columbus  and  Bowling  Green,  and  thence 
to  Nashville,  Selraa,  Richmond,  and  Chattanooga ;  put 
him  into  the  battles  of  Belmont  and  Shiloh  ;  bring  him 
in  contact  with  Morgan,  Polk,  Breckenridge,  and  a 
bevy  of  Confederate  generals;  employ  him  consecu 
tively  in  the  infantry,  ordnance,  cavalry,  courier,  and 
hospital  services ;  then  put  a  pen  in  his  hand,  and  if 
his  sketches  of  men  and  things  in  the  land  of  darkness 
have  not  interest  and  value,  pray  what  would  you  read 
in  war-time  ? 

The  writer  has  been  favored  with  the  perusal  of  the 
proof-sheets  of  this  remarkable  book.  Many  of  its  in- 


A  VIEW  OF  THIS  BOOK. 

cidents  had  had  the  charm  of  personal  narration  from 
the  lips  of  the  author ;  but  it  is  only  just  to  say,  that 
the  lucid,  graphic  style  of  the  author  gives  all  the 
vividness  of  personal  description  to  the  scenes  and  in 
cidents  of  which  he  was  an  eyewitness.  That  so  many 
and  such  varied  adventures  should  have  fallen  to  the 
lot  of  a  single  person,  is  passing  strange ;  and  that  he 
should  have  survived  and  escaped  to  relate  them,  is, 
perhaps,  yet  stranger.  That  they  were  all  experienced 
substantially  as  related,  none  will  doubt,  when  the  mi 
nute  details  of  name,  date,  place,  and  surroundings  are 
found  to  be  sketched  with  palpable  truthfulness. 

The  temper  of  the  book  is  scarcely  less  noteworthy 
than  its  fund  of  incident  and  anecdote.  Parson  Brown- 
low's  book  and  speeches  are  brimful  of  invective.  He's 
a  good  hater,  indeed.  He  claimed  in  his  Academy  of 
Music  speech  that,  "  If  there  was  any  thing  on  God's 
earth  that  he  was  made  for,  it  was  to  pile  up  epithets 
against  this  infernal  rebellion !"  Chacun  a  son  gout. 
Our  young  author  has  struck  a  harder  blow  at  the 
Confederacy  by  his  damaging  facts,  than  if  he  had  in 
tensified  them  with  the  vocabulary  of  profanity  and  vi 
tuperation.  There  has  been  more  than  enough  of  bitter 
words,  North  and  South ;  it  is  now  a  question  of 
strength,  and  skill,  and  endurance.  This  book  will 
teach  us  to  respect  the  energy,  while  we  detest  the 
principles,  of  this  stupendous  rebellion. 


THIRTEEN  MONTHS 


THE   REBEL  ARMY. 


THIRTEEN  MONTHS 


IN 


THE   REBEL  ARMY: 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  PERSONAL  ADVENTURES 

IN 

THE  INFANTRY,  ORDNANCE,  CAVALRY,  COURIER, 

AND 

HOSPITAL    SERVICES; 


AN  EXHIBITION  OF  THE  POWER,  PUEPOSES,  EARNEST- 
NESS,  MILITARY  DESPOTISM,  AND   DEMOR 
ALIZATION  OF  THE  SOUTH. 


BY  AN  IMP-REUSED  NEW  YORKER. 


NEW  YORK : 
A.   S.   BARNES   &  BURR, 

51    &  53  JOIIN-STREET. 
1862. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1862, 

BY  A.  S.  BARNES  &  BURR, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the 
Southern  District  of  New  York. 


RENNIE/SHEA  &  LINDSAY, 
8TERBOTYFEP.S 
.81; 

Nefn 


GEORGE  W.  WOOD,  PRINTER, 
No.  2  Dutch-st.,  N.  Y. 


PREFACE. 


A  WORD  TO  THE  READER. 

I  GIVE  to  you,  in  the  following  pages,  a  sim 
ple  narrative  of  facts.  I  have  no  motive  to 
misrepresent  or  conceal.  I  have  an  honest  de 
sire  to  describe  faithfully  and  truly  what  I  saw 
and  heard  during  thirteen  months  of  enforced 
service  in  the  Rebel  army. 

If  I  should  seem  to  you  to  speak  too  favorably 
of  individuals  or  occurrences  in  the  South,  I  beg 
you  to  consider  that  I  give  impressions  obtained 
when  in  the  South.  If  my  book  has  any  value 
it  lies  in  this  very  fact,  that  it  gives  you  an  in 
terior  view  of  this  stupendous  rebellion,  which 
can  not  be  obtained  by  one  standing  in  the 
North  and  looking  at  it  only  with  Northern 
eyes. 

I  have  confidence  in  truth  ;  and  unwelcome 
truth,  is  none  the  less  truth,  and  none  the  less 

303050 


8  PREFACE. 

valuable.  Sure  am  I,  that  if  the  ISTorth  had 
known  the  whole  truth  as  to  the  power,  the 
unanimity ',  oJff^tJie  deadly  purpose  of  the  lead 
ers  in  the  rebellion,  the  government  would  have 
been  far  better  prepared  for  promptly  meeting 
the  crisis.  Look  then  candidly  at  facts,  and 
give  them  their  true  weight. 

As  I  am  under  no  obligation,  from  duty  or 
honor,  to  conceal  what  I  was  compelled  to  see 
and  hear  in  the  South,  I  tell  it  frankly  ;  hoping 
it  may  be  of  value  to  my  bleeding  country,  I 
tell  it  plainly.  I  have  no  cause  to  lote  the 
Confederate  usurpation,  as  will  fully  appear, 
yet  I  refrain  from  abusive  and  denunciatory 
epithets,  because  both  my  taste  and  judgment 
enjoin  it. 

For  the  accuracy  of  names,  dates,  and  places, 
I  rely  wholly  upon  memory.  I  kept  memo 
randa  during  my  whole  service,  but  was  com 
pelled  to  leave  every  thing  when  I  attempted 
escape,  as  such  papers  then  found  in  my  posses 
sion  would  have  secured  my  certain  death ;  but 
in  all  material  things  I  can  promise  the  accu 
racy  which  a  retentive  memory  secures. 


PREFACE.  9 

If  an  apology  is  needed  for  the  constant  re 
currence  of  the  personal  pronoun  in  these  pages, 
let  it  be  said  that  the  recital  of  personal  inci 
dents,  without  circumlocution,  necessarily  com 
pels  it. 

With  this  brief  word,  I  invite  you  to  enter 
with  me  upon  the  Southern  service ;  you  can 
stop  when  you  please,  or  go  with  me  to  the 
end,  and  give  a  huzza  as  you  see  me  escape  and 
reach  the  loyal  lines. 

WILLIAM  G.  STEVENSON. 

NEW  YORK  CITY,  Sept,  15th,  1862. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

HOW    I   VOLUNTEERED. 

Object  in  going  to  Arkansas. — Change  of  Purpose. — Young  Ac 
quaintances. — Questioned  on  Slavery. — Letter  to  my  Parents. — 
Unfortunate  Clause. — A  Midnight  Call. — Warlike  Preparations. 
— Good  Advice. — Honor  among  Lynchers. — Arrival  at  Court  of 
Judge  Lynch. — Character  of  Jury. — Trial  commenced. — Indict 
ment  and  Argument. — Excitement  increases. — Butler  Gavins 
and  his  Lariat. — The  Crisis. — The  Acquittal. — No  Safety  from 
it. — First  Impulse  and  subsequent  Eeflection. — Attempted  Es 
cape.— Night  Eide. — Helena. — An  Uneasy  Boat  Ride. — Mem 
phis.— "A  Blue  Jacket."— Committee  of  Public  Safety.— A 
Surprise.— Dismissal  followed  by  Unwelcome  Letter  and  Po 
liceman. — Recruiting  Station. — Volunteering 15 

CHAPTER  II. 

INFANTRY   SERVICE. 

Character  of  our  Regiment. — No  Escape. — A  Fixed  Resolve. — 
Randolph. — Camp  Life. — Sabbath. — Father  Daly. — Washing.— 
Fort  Wright. — Grand  Defect. — Rations. — Stolen  Waters. — Mu 
tiny.— Sentence.— Fort  Pillow.— Slaves.— Aiding  the  Rebellion. 
—Deep  Earnestness  of  the  People.— Strength  of  the  Fort.— 
"Pillow's  Trot  Line."— No  Pay,  and  the  Result.— General 


12  CONTENTS. 

Pillow  described.— Columbus,  Ky.— Hard  Work.— Pillow  in 
the  Ditch. — The  Batteries. — Torpedoes. — Battle  of  Belmont. — 
False  Eeport. — Troops  cross. — Untimely  Joking. — The  Tide  ol 
Battle.— A  Charge.— Cruelty.— Victory.— Why  ?— Loss.— Burial 
of  the  Dead.— How  Not  to  Kill.— Accident.— The  Military 
Bishop 40 

CHAPTER   III. 

OKDNANCE    SERVICE. 

Transferred  to  Ordnance. — Camp  Beauregard.— Was  my  Oath 
binding? — Eesources  of  the  Eebels. — Cannon  stolen. — Manu 
factured. — A  Rifling  Machine. — Beauregard's  Bells. — Imported 
Cannon. — Eunning  Blockade. — Silence  of  Southern  Papers. — 
Small-Arms  made. — Altered. — Abundant. — Earnestness  of  all 
Classes. — Imported  Arms. — England's  Neutrality. — Ammuni 
tion  imported. — Manufactured. — Smuggled. — A  Eailroad  Epi 
sode. — A  Deserting  Engineer. — A  New  Hand  at  the  Throttle. 
—Caution. — A  Smash  Up  and  Pistols. — Eeconciliation. — Eesult 
of  Smash  Up. — Bowling  Green. — Size  of  Army. — Sickness. — 
Personal. — Kindness  of  Nashville  People. — Moral  and  Eeligious 
Efforts  for  the  Eebel  Army. — Vices  prevalent. — Seminaries  and 
Schools  disbanded 79 

CHAPTER   IV. 

CAVALRY    SERVICE. 

New  Field  of  Action. — Promotion. — Guerrilla  Warfare. — Charac 
teristics. — Tendencies. — Captain  J.  H.  Morgan. — Character- 
Personal  Appearance. — Anecdotes. — Success. — Southern  Cav 
alry  superior  to  Northern. — Advantages. — Eiding  Courier. — 
General  Johnson  evacuates  Bowling  Green. — Excitement  in 
Nashville. — Preparations  for  Defense. — Commissary  Stores. — 
Vandalism. — Eear  Guard. — Line  of  Eetreat.— Dreadful  Hard- 


CONTENTS.  13 

ships. — Losses. — Forced  March. — Desolation. — Cause  of  Re 
treat.— Other  Counsel.— Accident.— No  Union  Feeling  evident. 
—Intolerant  yet  Sincere 103 

CHAPTER  V. 

COURIER   SERVICE. 

New  Duties. — Battle  approaching. — Deserters  and  Scouts. — A 
Providence. — Position  and  Forces  of  the  Confederates. — Orders 
to  prepare  to  move. — My  New  Position. — March  to  the  Battle 
field. — Federals  off  their  Guard. — Care  of  the  Confederates 
against  Desertion. — Council  of  War. — A  Dreary  Night. — Awful- 
ness  of  War. — The  Fight  opened. — Beauregard's  Address. — 
The  First  Dead. — Detour. — Camp  of  71st  Ohio  Volunteers. — 
Failure  of  Strategy. — General  Johnson  killed. — Death  con 
cealed. — Furious  Fighting. — Horse  killed.— Sad  Scene. — Eebels 
gaining.— Struck  by  a  Shell. — Another  Horse  killed. — The 
Wounded  Cavalryman  and  his  Horse. — Sleep  in  the  Camp  of 
the  71st  Ohio.— Startling  Eeveille.— Eesult  of  First  Day's  Bat 
tle. — Victory  for  the  Rebels. — Arrangements  for  Second  Day. — 
Bloody  Scenes. — Grant's  Attack. — Rebels  fall  back. — Fluctua 
tions  of  the  Day. — General  Hindman  blown  up. — Retreat  de 
termined  on. — Leaving  the  Field. — Horrors  of  the  Retreat. — 
Sleep  among  the  Dying. — Reach  Corinth. — Resolve 138 

CHAPTER  VI. 

HOSPITAL   SERVICE. 

Wounded  arriving. — Care  of  my  own  Men. — Appointment  as 
Assistant-surgeon. — Discharge  from  Rebel  Army.— Dreadful 
Scenes.— Sickness. — Nurses. — Stoicism. — Military  Murder  of  a 
Deserter. — No  Pay. — Go  to  Mobile. — Spirit  of  the  People  on 
the  Way.— Met  at  Depot.— No  Means  of  Escape.— The  Stagnant 
City.— Surveillance  of  the  Press. — Forced  Charity. — In  charge 


14:  CONTENTS. 

of  a  Hospital. — Selma. — Kindness  of  Ladies. — Piano.— Artesian 
Wells. — Model  Hospital. — Furlough  to  Kichmond. — Eigid  Dis 
cipline. —  Disappointment. — Bitter  Thoughts. —  Crinoline  and 
Volunteering.— North  asleep 175 

CHAPTER  VII. 

MY  ESCAPE. 

Obstacles  in  the  Way  of  Escape. — Farewell  to  Selma. — Gold  ver 
sus  Confederate  Scrip. — An  unnamed  Friend. — Conscription. 
Act. —  Swearing  in  a  Regiment. —  Soldier  shot. —  Chattanooga 
reached. — Danger  of  Recognition. — Doff  the  Military. — Trans 
formation. —  A  Bivouac. —  A  Retired  Ferryman.  —  Conscience 
versus  Gold. — Casuistry. — Embarkation  and  Voyage. — Pistols 
and  Persuasion. — An  unwilling  Pilot. — A  Night-reverie. — My 
Companion's  Pisgah. — Selim. — Secession  a  destructive  Princi 
ple. — Practical  Illustration. — A  third  Night  in  the  Rocks. — 
Home  and'  the  Welcome. — The  Dying  Deserter. — One  more 
Move— but  how  ? — My  Loss  and  Selim's  Gain. — Off  for  Home. 
—Federal  Officer  and  Oath  of  Allegiance.— Plea  for  Treason.— 
Sanctity  of  an  Oath. — JResume.—HomQ 196 


THIRTEEN  MONTHS 


IN 


THE   REBEL  ARMY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

HOW   I   VOLUNTEERED. 

Object  in  going  to  Arkansas. — Change  of  Purpose. — Young  Ac 
quaintances. — Questioned  on  Slavery. — Letter  to  my  Parents. — 
Unfortunate  Clause. — A  Midnight  Call. — Warlike  Preparations. 
— Good  Advice. — Honor  among  Lynchers. — Arrival  at  Court  of 
Judge  Lynch.— Character  of  Jury.— Trial  commenced.— Indict 
ment  and  Argument. — Excitement  increases. — Butler  Gavins 
and  his  Lariat.— The  Crisis.— The  Acquittal.— No  Safety  from 
it. — First  Impulse  and  subsequent  Eeflection. — Attempted  Es 
cape.— Night  Eide. — Helena. — An  Uneasy  Boat  Eide. — Mem 
phis.— "A  Blue  Jacket."— Committee  of  Public  Safety.— A 
Surprise.— Dismissal  followed  by  Unwelcome  Letter  and  Po 
liceman. — Eecruiting  Station. — Volunteering. 

HAVING  spent  my  boyhood  near  Louisville, 
Kentucky,  and  falling  in  love  with  the  charac 
ter  of  the  young  men  of  that  chivalric  State, 
I  found  my  way  back  to  that  region  in  the  be- 


16  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

ginning  of  the  year  1861,  from  my  home  in  the 
city  of  E"ew  York.  In  March,  I  went  down  the 
Mississippi  river  to  seek  a  school,  and  stopped 
in  Arkansas,  where  I  hoped  to  find  a  relative 
who  was  engaged  in  teaching.  Failing  to  find 
either  my  kinsman  or  a  remunerative  school,  I 
entered  into  partnership  with  a  young  man  from 
Memphis  named  George  Davis,  for  the  purpose 
of  getting  out  wine-cask  staves,  to  be  shipped 
to  New  Orleans  and  from  thence  to  France. 
We  located  in  Phillips  county,  Arkansas,  bor 
dering  on  the  St.  Francis  river,  more  than  100 
miles  from  Memphis.  The  venture  proved  prof 
itable,  and  with  five  hired  hands — Frenchmen 
— we  were  making  money  fast  enough  to  satisfy 
a  moderate  ambition,  and  I  had  time  to  look 
about  me  and  study  the  various  phases  of  Ar 
kansas  society. 

Frequent  log-rollings — meetings  of  the  neigh 
bors  to  clear  away  the  dead  timber  which  falls 
during  the  winter — brought  me  into  contact  with 
the  citizens  for  miles  around.  All  sought  ac 
quaintance  with  the  stranger  youth,  and  were 
generally  courteous  and  friendly.  In  trials  of 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  17 

strength  and  skill,  I  occasionally  gained  an  ad 
vantage  which  made  me  friends  among  the 
older,  but  evidently  waked  up  envy  in  the 
breasts  of  some  of  the  rougher  young  men.  My 
refusal  to  drink  with  the  crowd,  also  widened 
the  breach  which  I  noticed  was  forming  with 
out  any  cause  on  my  part. 

I  was  often  sounded  on  the  subject  of  slavery, 
which  is  the  touchstone  always  used  in  the  South 
to  test  the  character  of  a  new-comer.  As  a 
young  man,  I  had  no  very  fixed  views  upon  the 
subject.  I  had  the  impression  that  where  it  ex 
isted  it  should  be  left  to  the  control  of  those 
who  were  connected  with  it;  and  an  outsider, 
as  I  was,  had  better  keep  hands  off,  so  far  at 
least  as  any  direct  efforts  were  concerned.  Nor 
had  I  any  disposition  to  promulgate  the  anti- 
slavery  convictions  of  my  boyhood,  since  I  well 
knew  they  could  have  no  good  effect  there; 
and  as  I  had  met  a  few  radical  and  half-crazy 
men  in  the  North,  whom  I  could  not  avoid  op 
posing,  I  was  able  to  say  some  truthful  things 
respecting  them,  which  conciliated  my  ques 
tioners.  Yet  I  would  not  include  the  great 


18  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

body  of  Northerners,  whom  I  admitted  I  had 
met  in  my  Kentucky  residence  (I  hailed  from 
Kentucky),  as  of  that  hated  class  called  by 
them  "  abolitionist ;"  hence  they  still  looked 
upon  me  with  a  shade  of  suspicion. 

Freedom  of  opinion  in  the  South  upon  this 
subject  is  not  tolerated  for  a  moment,  and  no 
honest  anti-slavery  man  was  safe  for  an  hour  in 
that  section.  But  as  I  was  only  a  youth,  they 
were  willing  to  suppose  I  knew  but  little  of  the 
subject,  and  I  thought  that  they  were  satisfied  I 
was  not  a  dangerous  resident  of  their  State. 
While  things  were  in  this  condition  I  concluded 
to  write  to  my  parents,  who  I  knew  were  anx 
ious  to  hear  from  me ;  but  I  dared  not  direct  a 
letter  to  New  York,  and  hence  inclosed  it  in  an 
envelope  to  a  friend  near  Louisville,  Kentucky, 
with  the  request  that  he  would  "  hand  it  to  my 
father  as  soon  as  convenient,"  not  doubting  that 
he  would  direct  and  mail  it  to  New  York.  In 
this  letter,  cautiously  written,  I  remarked,  "This 
is  a  hard  place  to  live  in,  as  I  had  to  ride  ten 
miles  to  get  paper  and  ink  to  write  this  letter ;" 
an  unfortunate  statement,  as  will  soon  appear. 


IN    THE    KEBEL    ARMY.  19 

The  letter  was  deposited  in  the  post-office  on 
April  16th.  I  went  home,  and,  as  if  urged  by  a 
guardian,  though  warlike,  spirit,  cleaned  up  my 
two  six-shooters,  and,  after  examining  my  am 
munition,  laid  them  away  unloaded.  On  the 
night  of  April  17th,  1861,  I  was  awakened  out 
of  a  sound  sleep  about  11  o'clock  by  three  men, 
who  requested  me  to  accompany  them  to  Jeffer 
son  ville,  a  small  town  on  the  St.  Francis  river, 
eight  miles  distant.  These  men  I  had  often 
met.  One  of  them  I  regarded  as  a  good  friend, 
and  had  some  confidence  in  the  other  two.  I 
asked  for  time  to  dress  and  get  ready,  which 
they  cheerfully  granted.  I  carefully  loaded  and 
capped  my  "  Navies,"  and  saddling  my  horse 
started  with  them,  like  Paul,  "not  knowing 
what  was  to  befall  me  there,"  but  I  fear  without 
much  of  the  spirit  of  the  good  apostle,  of  whom 
I  had  learned  in  the  pious  home  of  my  child 
hood.  I  soon  found  these  "carnal  weapons" 
essential  safeguards  in  that  place,  though  if  I 
had  been  an  apostle  I  might  not  have  needed 
them. 

On  the  way  to  town  my  friend  Buck  Scruggs 


20  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

— he  deserved  a  better  name — asked  me  to  ride 
forward  with  him,  and  gave  me  this  informa 
tion  and  advice.  "  You  are  now  going  to  be 
tried  by  the  Phillips  County  Vigilance  Com 
mittee  on  suspicion  of  being  a  Northern  man 
and  an  abolitionist.  When  you  reach  the  gro 
cery  where  they  are  assembled,  seat  yourself  on 
the  counter  in  the  back  part  of  the  room,  where 
if  you  have  to  defend  yourself  they  cannot  get 
behind  you.  Make  no  studied  defence,  but 
calmly  meet  the  charges  at  the  fitting  time  and 
in  brief  words.  Keep  cool,  and  use  no  lan 
guage  which  can  be  tortured  into  an  offensive 
sense,  and  if  possible  I  will  save  you.  If  the 
worst  comes,  draw  your  pistols  and  be  ready, 
but  don't  shoot  while  ever  there  is  hope,  for 
you  will  of  course  be  killed  the  instant  you  kill 
any  one  else." 

I  listened  very  intently  to  this  advice,  given 
as  coolly  as  if  he  had  been  chatting  about  an 
every-day  concern,  and  concluded  that  all  de 
pended  upon  my  coolness  and  steadiness  of 
nerve  when  the  final  struggle  came,  and  re 
solved  to  sell  my  life  dearly  if  it  must  be  sacri- 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  21 

ficed  to  the  fury  of  a  causeless  persecution.  To 
my  proposition  to  escape  then,  having  a  fleet 
horse,  he  would  not  assent,  as  he  had  pledged 
his  honor  to  take  me  to  the  Vigilance  Commit 
tee.  Honor  is  as  essential  among  lynchers  as 
among  thieves,  and  all  I  could  do  was  to  brace 
myself  for  the  encounter,  of  the  nature  of  which 
I  had  but  an  imperfect  conception.  About  12 
o'clock  we  reached  the  place,  and  I  was  ushered 
into  the  presence  of  fifty  or  sixty  as  graceless 
scoundrels  as  even  Arkansas  can  present,  who 
greeted  me  with  hisses,  groans,  and  cries  of, 
"Hang  him!"  "Burn  him!"  &c.  Two-thirds 
of  the  mob  were  maddened  by  the  vile  liquor 
which  abounds  in  such  localities,  and  few,  if 
any,  were  entirely  sober.  The  hope  that  my 
innocence  would  protect  me,  which  I  had  cher 
ished  until  now,  vanished,  for  I  well  knew  that 
drunken  cut-throats  were  blind  to  reason,  and 
rather  offended  than  attracted  by  innocence. 

Order  was  soon  restored,  and  my  friend  Mr. 
Scruggs  was  called  to  the  chair.  In  this  I  saw 
a  ray  of  hope.  The  constitution  and  by-laws 
of  the  Yigilance  Committee  were  read ;  the  sub- 


22  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

stance  of  which  was,  that  in  the  present  troubled 
state  of  the  country  the  citizens  resolve  them 
selves  into  a  court  of  justice  to  examine  all 
Northern  men,  and  that  any  man  of  abolition 
principles  shall  be  hung.  The  roll  was  called, 
and  I  noticed  that  a  large  proportion  of  the 
men  present  were  members  of  the  Committee ; 
the  others  were  boatmen  and  loafers  collected 
about  the  town.  The  court  of  Judge  Lynch 
opened,  and  I  was  put  upon  trial  as  an  "  Abo 
litionist  whose  business  there  was  to  incite  an 
insurrection  among  the  slaves." 

The  first  efforts  of  the  chairman  to  get  the 
witnesses  to  the  point,  were  unsuccessful.  A 
mob  is  not  an  orderly  body,  and  a  drunken  mob 
is  hard  to  manage.  General  charges  were 
freely  made  without  much  point.  One  cried 
out,  because  I  refused  to  drink  with  them: 
"  This  should  hang  him ;  he  is  too  white-livered 
to  take  a  dram  with  gentlemen,  let  him  swing." 
"  Yes,"  shouted  another ;  "  he  is  a  cursed  Yan 
kee  teetotaler,  hang  him."  In  a  quiet  way  I 
showed  them  that  this  was  not  the  indictment, 
and  that  hanging  would  be  a  severe  punish- 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  23 

ment  for  such  a  sin  of  omission.  To  this 
rejoinder  some  assented,  and  the  tide  seemed 
for  a  moment  to  be  setting  in  my  favor,  when 
another  urged,  "  He  is  too  'tarnal  smart  for  this 
country.  He  talks  like  a  Philadelphia  lawyer." 
— Arkansas  would  be  a  poor  place  for  the  mem 
bers  of  the  legal  profession  from  the  city  of 
brotherly  love. — "He  comes  here  to  teach  us 
ignorant  backwoodsmen.  We'll  show  him  a 
new  trick,  how  to  stretch  hemp,  the  cursed 
Yankee."  At  length  the  chairman  got  them 
to  the  specified  crime.  "  An  abolitionist !  An 
abolitionist!"  they  cried  with  intense  rage, — 
some  of  them  were  too  drunk  to  pronounce  the 
word, — but  the  more  sober  ones  prevailed,  and 
they  examined  the  evidence.  The  hearsay 
amounted  to  nothing,  and  they  plied  me  with 
questions  as  to  my  views  on  slavery.  I  an 
swered  promptly,  but  briefly  and  honestly,  that 
I  held  no  views  on  that  subject  to  which  they 
should  object,  and  that  I  had  never  interfered 
with  the  institution  since  I  came  among  them, 
nor  did  I  intend  to  do  so.  My  calmness 
seemed  to  baffle  them  for  a  moment,  but  the 


24:  THIKTEEN    MONTHS 

bottle  was  passed,  and  I  noticed  that  all  reason 
fled  from  the  great  majority.  Words  grew  hot 
and  fierce,  and  eyes  flashed  fire,  while  some 
actually  gnashed  their  teeth  in  rage.  I  saw 
that  the  mob  would  soon  be  uncontrollable 
unless  the  chairman  brought  matters  to  an  end, 
and  suggested,  that  as  there  was  no  evidence 
against  me,  they  should  bring  the  trial  to  a 
close,  when  to  my  surprise  they  produced  the 
letter  written  to  my  father  but  thirty-six  hours 
before,  as  proof  conclusive  that  I  was  a  Northern 
abolitionist.  I  then  saw,  what  I  have  had  abun 
dant  evidence  of  since,  that  the  United  States 
mail  was  subject  to  the  inspection  of  Yigilance 
Committees  in  the  South  at  their  pleasure. 
The  ruffianism  of  these  scoundrels  did  not  allow 
them  even  to  apologize  for  their  crime.  The 
only  phrase  in  the  letter  objected  to  was  the 
unfortunate  but  truthful  one,  "  This  is  a  hard 
place."  I  never  felt  its  force  as  at  that  instant. 
It  served  as  a  catch-word  for  more  abuse. 
"  Yes,  we'll  make  it  a  hard  place  for  you  before 
you.  get  out  of  it,  you  infernal  spy,"  &c.  The 
chairman  argued  rather  feebly  as  I  thought — 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  25 

but  lie  understood  his  audience  better  than  I 
did — that  the  letter  was  free  from  any  proof 
against  me,  that  I  was  an  innocent-looking 
youth  and  had  behaved  myself  correctly,  that  I 
evidently  did  not  know  much  about  their  pecu 
liar  institution,  and  he  thought  I  had  no  designs 
against  it.  They  then  went  into  a  private  con 
sultation,  while  I  kept  my  place  upon  the 
counter,  though  gradually  moving  back  to  the 
further  edge  of  it.  I  saw  the  crisis  was  at 
hand,  for  smothered  but  angry  argument  was 
going  on  in  knots  of  men  all  over  the  room ;  my 
life  was  suspended  upon  a  breath,  and  I  was 
utterly  powerless  to  change  the  decision,  what 
ever  it  might  be ;  but  I  must  say  that  my 
nerves  were  steady  and  my  hand  un  trembling, 
— the  unwonted  calmness  of  one  who  knew  that 
death  was  inevitable  if  they  should  decide  in  the 
affirmative  on  the  charge,  and  who  was  deter 
mined  to  defend  himself  to  the  last,  as  I  well 
knew  any  death  they  could  there  inflict,  was 
better  than  to  fall  into  their  hands  to  be  tor 
mented  by  their  hellish  hate. 

During  the  consultation,  one  Butler  Gavins, 


26  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

who  had  a  good  deal  of  influence  (he  owned 
about  twenty  slaves),  left  the  grocery  with  five 
or  six  others  and  was  absent  about  ten  minutes. 
He  returned  with  a  coil  of  rope  upon  his  arm, 
elbowing  his  way  through  the  crowd,  and  ex 
claimed,  "  Gentlemen,  I  am  in  favor  of  hanging 
him.  He  is  a  nice,  innocent  young  man.  He 
is  far  safer  for  heaven  now  than  when  he  learns 
to  drink,  swear,  and  be  as  hardened  an  old 
sinner  as  I  am."  I  could  not,  even  at  the.  peril 
of  life,  refrain  from  retorting :  "  That,  sir,  is  the 
only  truth  I  have  heard  from  you  to-night." 
My  friends,  yet  few,  and  feeble  in  the  advocacy 
of  my  cause,  seemed  slightly  encouraged  by 
this  rebuff,  and  gained  the  ear  of  the  rabble  for 
a  little.  Gavins  could  not  be  silenced.  "  This 
is  a  fine  lariat,  boys;  it  has  swung  two  aboli 
tionists.  I  guess  it  will  hold  another.  Come 
on,  boys,"  and  a  general  gathering  up  in  the 
form  of  a  semicircle,  crowding  nearer  the  coun 
ter,  occurred.  At  the  same  moment  jumping 
back  off  the  counter  and  displaying  two  six- 
shooters,  I  said,  "  If  that's  your  game,  come  on  ; 
some  of  you  shall  go  with  me  to  the  other 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  27 

world !  The  first  man  that  makes  another  step 
toward  me  is  a  dead  man."  There  was  one 
moment  of  dread  suspense  and  breathless  still 
ness ;  hands  were  tightened  on  daggers  and 
pistols,  but  no  hand  was  raised.  The  whole 
pack  stood  at  bay,  convinced  that  any  attempt 
to  take  me  would  send  several  of  them  to  cer 
tain  death.  My  friends,  who  had  kept  some 
what  together,  now  ranged  themselves  against 
the  counter  before  me,  facing  the  crowd,  and 
Buck  Scruggs  said,  "  He  has  not  been  con 
victed,  and  he  shall  not  be  touched."  James 
Kiel  and  Dempsey  Jones,  the  other  two  who 
had  aided  in  my  arrest,  joined  Scruggs ;  and 
their  influence,  added  to  the  persuasive  elo 
quence  of  my  pistols,  decided  the  wavering. 
In  twenty  seconds  more  than  twenty  votes  were 
given  for  my  acquittal,  and  the  chairman  de 
clared  in  a  triumphant  voice,  "He  is  unani 
mously  acquitted."  The  unanimity,  I  confess, 
was  not  such  as  I  would  have  desired ;  but  all 
agreed  the  youngster  had  pluck,  and  would  soon 
make  as  good  a  fighter  as  any  of  them.  With 
a  forced  laugh,  which  on  some  faces  ill  con- 


28  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

cealed  their  hatred,  while  others  made  an  un 
seemly  attempt  at  coarse  wit,  they  adjourned, 
voting  themselves  a  drink  at  my  expense,  which 
I  must  perforce  pay,  as  they  had  generously 
acquitted  me!  I  confess  to  an  amiable  wish 
that  the  dollar  I  laid  on  the  counter  of  Gavins 
for  a  gallon  of  whiskey  might  some  day  buy 
the  rope  to  tighten  on  his  craven  throat,  though 
[  did  not  deem  it  wise  to  give  expression  to  my 
sentiments  just  then. 

As  the  bottle  passed  for  the  last  time,  the 
change  of  feeling  was  most  rapid,  and  1  was 
greeted  quite  patronizingly  by  some  who  had 
been  fierce  for  hanging  me.  The  more  malig 
nant  shrunk  away  by  twos  and  threes,  and  soon 
the  grocery  was  empty.  My  special  friends, 
who  were  now  more  than  ever  friends,  having 
risked  their  own  lives  to  save  me  (I  even  then 
thought  of  One  who  had  given  up  His  life  to 
save  me),  advised,  in  earnest  words — "Now,  S., 
put  thirty  miles  between  you  and  these  fellows 
before  to-morrow  ;  for  some  of  them  are  enraged 
at  their  defeat,  and  if  you  stay  here  you.  are  a 
doomed  man." 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  29 

My  first  impulse  was  to  return  home,  attend 
to  my  regular  business,  defy  them,  and,  if  neces 
sary,  sell  my  life  as  dearly  as  possible.  But 
what  could  one  man,  and  he  a  youth  and  a 
stranger,  do  against  a  corrupt  and  reckless  pop 
ulace  ?  When  suspicion  was  once  aroused,  I 
knew  that  the  least  spark  would  kindle  it  into 
a  flame.  Society  there  was  completely  barbar 
ous  in  its  character,  so  far  as  law  was  concerned. 
The  mob  has  ruled  for  years,  and  the  spirit  of 
rebellion,  now  rampant  all  over  the  South,  had 
taken  form  and  expressed  itself  in  these  vigilance 
committees,  constituting  as  cruel  courts  of  in 
quiry  as  was  ever  the  Inquisition. 

Instances  of  recent  occurrence  of  most  atro 
cious  character  were  in  my  mind,  showing  that 
these  men  would  persecute  me  to  death,  sooner 
or  later,  if  I  remained.  Only  two  nights  before, 
a  part  of  this  same  gang  had  murdered  a  Mr. 
Crawford,  who  was  a  native  of  Sullivan  county, 
]S"ew  York,  but  had  lived  in  Arkansas  sixteen 
years — a  man  against  whom  no  charge  could 
justly  be  brought.  A  few  days  previous  to  this 
murder  a  man  named  "Washburne  was  whipped 


30  THIRTEEN     MONTHS 

to  death  by  four  ruffians,  of  whom  Gavins  was 
one.  His  only  crime  was  that  he  was  a  North' 
ern  man.  His  body  was  thrown  into  the  St. 
Francis  river,  after  the  diabolical  deed  was  con 
summated.  I  had  heard  these  horrible  recitals 
until  my  blood  curdled,  and  I  saw  there  was  no 
hope  but  in  leaving  this  hell  upon  earth. 

The  simple  knowledge  that  I  had  ever  lived 
in  ]STew  York  would,  I  think,  have  hung  me 
without  fail  that  night. 

The  causes  of  this  mad  lawlessness  I  may  not 
fully  understand.  Some  of  them  lie  upon  the 
surface.  Reckless  men  settled  there  originally, 
and,  living  beyond  the  control  of  calmly  and 
justly  administered  law,  they  gradually  re 
solved  themselves  into  a  court,  the  most  daring 
and  active-minded  becoming  the  self-elected 
leaders. 

Then  the  system  of  slavery  gives  them  almost 
unlimited  power  over  the  persons  and  lives  of 
large  numbers  of  human  beings,  and  this  fosters 
a  spirit  of  despotism  so  natural  to  all  men,  even 
the  most  civilized,  when  invested  with  supreme 
power. 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  31 

And,  still  further,  some  fanatical  men  from 
the  North,  determined  violently  to  break  the 
bonds  of  the  poor  slave,  had  been  found  in  re 
cent  years  spreading  incendiary  works  among 
the  poor  white  population  and  the  negroes  who 
could  read,  thus  endangering  the  lives  of  the 
masters  and  their  families.  As  a  matter  of  self- 
defence,  Northern  men  were  watched  with  un 
remitting  and  eagle-eyed  vigilance. 

But  whether  all  this  explains  the  fact  or  not, 
no  Northern  man's  life  was  safe  for  an  hour  in 
that  section  of  Arkansas  at  the  time  of  which  I 
speak.  Hence  I  concluded  that  their  advice 
was  good,  though  I  must  lose  what  interest  I 
had  in  my  business  partnership.  Then,  how 
was  I  to  travel  thirty  miles  before  daybreak,  as 
it  was  now  two  o'clock  ?  I  immediately  took 
the  road  to  Helena,  on  the  Mississippi  river.  I 
will  not  record  all  my  thoughts  during  that  ride 
— homeless,  friendless,  and,  though  innocent  of 
crime,  hunted  like  a  very  murderer,  in  free  and 
enlightened  America ! 

How  long  is  this  system  of  terrorism  to  con 
tinue?  This  utter  disregard  of  law  and  the 


32  THIRTEEN     MONTHS 

sanctity  of  human  life  ?  Among  the  questions 
to  be  settled  by  this  war,  are  not  these  import 
ant  ?  Shall  an  American  citizen  be  allowed  in 
safety  to  travel  or  reside  anywhere  in  his  own 
land?  Shall  there  be  any  freedom  of  opinion 
and  speech  upon  the  question  of  slavery  ? 

If  it  be  said  that  the  institution  of  slavery 
can  not  tolerate  freedom  of  thought  and  speech 
with  safety  to  the  master,  then  the  system  is 
barbarous,  and  can  not  exist  in  a  free  land.  Let 
it  be  admitted  that  there  are  difficulties  con 
nected  with  the  institution ;  that  John  Brown 
raids,  and  incendiary  emissaries,  are  wicked ; 
that  unlicensed  denunciations  of  all  implicated 
in  the  system,  are  grossly  wrong.  Still,  can 
there  be  no  calm  and  considerate  discussion  of 
the  rightfulness  or  sinfulness  of  the  laws  which 
define  and  regulate  slavery  ?  Must  all  the  cru 
elties  and  iniquities  which  accompany  its  exist- 
once  be  left  unchallenged,  and  their  authors 
imcondemned?  Then  is  the  whole  system  to 
be  swept  away  as  a  curse  and  enormity,  which 
neither  the  civilization  of  the  nineteenth  century 
nor  a  just  God  will  longer  tolerate? 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  33 

The  blood  of  hundreds  of  American  citizens 
shed  on  Southern  plains  with  dreadful  tortures, 
cries  from  the  ground,  "How  long,  0  Lord, 
holy  and  true,  dost  thou  not  judge  and  avenge 
our  blood  on  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth?" 
Has  not  the  day  of  avenging  already  com 
menced  ? 

The  intensity  of  my  emotions  for  three  hours 
had  exhausted  me,  and  now  the  temporary  es 
cape  from  imminent  peril  allowed  me  to  sink 
down  almost  to  fainting,  scarcely  able  for  a 
time  to  keep  my  seat  in  the  saddle.  A  feeling 
of  loneHness  and  utter  desertion,  such  as  I  have 
never  else  experienced,  came  over  me,  and  I 
longed  once  more  to  be  in  the  free  North,  and 
at  the  home  of  my  affectionate  parents. 

But  as  the  day  broke,  I  aroused  myself  to  the 
realities  before  me,  and  after  procuring  break 
fast  at  a  private  house,  rode  into  Helena,  in 
time  to  take  the  Memphis  boat,  which  left  at 
ten  o'clock,  A.  M.  This  boat,  the  St.  Francis, 
No.  3,  left  Jeffersonville  (where  I  was  tried  and 
released)  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  on  its 
way  down  the  St.  Francis  river,  thence  to 


34  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

Helena,  and  thence  up  to  Memphis.  As  it  left 
Jeffersonville  four  hours  after  my  escape  from 
that  place,  the  report  that  "  an  abolitionist  had 
been  tried  that  night  and  ran  off,"  had  reached 
the  boat  at  the  wharf.  When  I  took  the  same 
boat  at  Helena  at  ten  o'clock,  I  heard  the  ex 
cited  crowds  detailing  the  incidents  in  which  I 
had  been  so  deeply  interested  a  few  hours  before. 
It  required  all  the  skill  in  controlling  the 
muscles  of  my  face  which  I  could  possibly  com 
mand,  to  appear  neither  too  much  nor  too  little 
interested  in  what  was  the  theme  of  every 
tongue.  I  was  pleased  to  see  that  -no  one 
thought  of  the  probability  of  the  escaped 
"  abolitionist"  having  reached  that  boat,  and 
hence  I  was  not  suspected :  at  least,  I  thought 
so.  Yet  there  was  nothing  in  my  surroundings 
that  gave  me  much  encouragement,  as  the  pas 
sengers,  who  were  numerous,  were  chiefly  vio 
lent  men  and  full  of  denunciation  of  the  North. 
I  was  already  exhausted  by  the  scenes  through 
which  I  had  passed,  and  poorly  prepared  for 
another  and  more  trying  one,  which  soon  met 
me,  and  of  course  was  not  able  to  get  much  rest 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  35 

during  the  day  and  night  passed  on  the>  way  to 
Memphis. 

As  the  St.  Francis  touched  the  wharf  on  the 
morning  of  the  19th  of  April,  the  very  day  that 
the  blood  of  the  Massachusetts  sixth  regiment 
dyed  the  streets  of  Baltimore,  shed  by  her  mur 
derous  rebels,  I  stepped  upon  the  landing ;  mean 
ing  to  look  over  the  state  of  things  in  the  city, 
and  see  if  I  could  get  out  of  it  in  the  direction 
of  Nashville,  where  I  had  friends  who,  I  thought, 
would  aid  me  homeward. 

But  I  had  not  left  the  wharf,  when  a  "  blue 
jacket,"  the  sobriquet  of  the  military  police 
men  that  then  guarded  the  city,  stepped  up  and 
said,  "I  see  you  are  a  stranger."  "Yes,  sir." 
"I  have  some  business  with  you.  You  will 
please  walk  with  me,  sir."  To  my  expression 
of  astonishment,  which  was  real,  he  replied, 
"You  answer  the  description  very  well,  sir. 
The  Committee  of  Public  Safety  wish  to  see 
you,  come  along."  As  it  was  useless  to  parley, 
I  walked  with,  him,  and  was  soon  ushered  into 
the  presence  of  that  body,  a  much -more  intelli 
gent  and  no  less  intensely  Southern  organiza- 


36  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

tion,  than  I  liad  found  in  the  grocery  of  Jeffer- 
sonville. 

They  questioned  me  as  to  my  home,  political 
opinions,  and  destination,  and  received  such 
answers  as  I  thought  it  wise  to  give.  Where 
upon  they  confronted  me,  to  my  amazement, 
with  a  member  of  the  Vigilance  Committee 
which  had  tried  me  at  Jeffersonville,  one  hun 
dred  and  twenty  miles  distant,  thirty  hours  be 
fore.  I  was  amazed,  because  I  did  not  imagine 
that  any  one  of  their  number  could  have  reached 
Memphis  before  me.  He  had  ridden  after  me 
the  night  of  my  escape,  and  when  I  stopped  for 
breakfast,  he  had  passed  on  to  Helena,  and 
taking  an  earlier  up-river  boat,  had  reached 
Memphis  some  hours  in  advance  of  the  St. 
Francis;  long  enough  before  me  to  post  the 
Committee  of  Public  Safety  as  to  my  person 
and  story  when  before  his  committee.  Even 
with  this  swift  witness  against  me,  they  were 
unable  to  establish  any  crime,  and  after  con 
sultation,  they  told  me  I  could  retire.  I  was 
immediately  followed  by  the  policeman,  who 
handed  me  a  letter  written  by  the  chairman, 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  '37 

suggesting  that  I  would  do  well  to  go  directly 
to  a  certain  recruiting  office,  where  young  men 
were  enlisting  under  the  Provisional  Govern 
ment  of  Tennessee,  and  where  I  would  find  it 
to  my  interest  to  volunteer,  adding,  substan 
tially,  as  follows :  "  Several  members  of  the 
committee  think  if  you  do  not  see  fit  to  follow 
this  advice,  you  will  probably  stretch  hemp 
instead  of  leaving  Memphis ;  as  they  can  not  be 
responsible  for  the  acts  of  an  infuriate  mob,  who 
may  hear  that  you  came  from  the  North."  I 
was  allowed  no  time  for  reflection,  as  the  police 
man  stood  waiting,  he  said,  "to  show  me  the 
way."  I  now  saw  at  a  glance,  that  the  military 
power  of  the  city  had  resolved  to  compel  me  to 
volunteer,  and  in  my  friendlessness  I.  could  think 
of  no  way  to  escape  the  cruel  and  dread  neces 
sity. 

Still  the  hope  remained  that  perhaps  I  might 
make  a  partial  promise,  and  ask  time,  and  yet 
elude  the  vigilance  of  the  authorities.  As  the 
M.  P.  grew  impatient,  and  at  length  imperious, 
showing  that  he  well  knew  that  he  had  me  in 
his  power,  I  walked  on  to  avoid  the  crowd  which 


38  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

was  beginning  to  gather,  and  soon  reached  the 
recruiting  station.  I  saw,  the  moment  I  was 
inside,  that  the  only  door  was  guarded  by 
bayonets,  crossed  in  the  hands  of  determined 
men.  The  Blue  Jacket,  in  a  private  conversa 
tion  with  the  recruiting  officer,  soon  gave  him 
my  status;  when,  turning  to  me,  the  officer 
said,  with  the  air  of  a  man  who  expects  to 
carry  his  point,  "  Well,  young  man,  I  learn  you 
have  come  to  volunteer ;  glad  to  see  you — good 
company,"  &c. 

To  which  I  replied,  "  I  was  advised  to  call 
and  look  at  the  matter,  and  will  take  some  time 
to  consider,  if  you  please." 

"  No  need  of  time,  sir — no  time  to  be  lost ; 
here  is  the  roll — enter  your  name,  put  on  the 
uniform,  and  then  you  can  pass  out,"  with  a 
glance  of  his  eye  at  the  policeman  and  the 
crossed  bayonets,  which  meant  plainly  enough, 
" You  do  not  go  out  before" 

To  my  suggestion  that  I  had  a  horse  on  the 
boat  which  I  must  see  about,  he  replied  very 
promptly,  "  That  could  all  le  done  when  this 
business  was  through." 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  39 

The  meslies  of  their  cursed  net  were  around 
me,  and  there  was  no  release ;  and  with  as  good 
a  grace  as  I  could  assume,  I  wrote  my  name, 
and  thus  I  volunteered  ! 

Does  any  reader  say,  "  You  did  wrong — you 
had  better  have  died  than  have  given  your 
name  to  such  an  infamous  and  causeless  rebel 
lion?"  I  can  only  answer:  It  is  far  easier  to 
say  what  a  homeless  youth,  hunted  for  his  life 
for  two  nights  and  a  day,  until  exhausted,  faint, 
and  friendless,  in  the  midst  of  an  excited  and 
armed  populace,  should  do,  than  it  was  in  the 
circumstances  to  do  what  will  stand  the  test  ot 
a  high,  calm,  and  safe  patriotism.  Let  none 
condemn  until  he  can  lay  his  hand  upon  his 
heart  and  say,  "  No  conceivable  pressure  could 


40  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

CHAPTER   II. 

INFANTRY    SERVICE. 

Character  of  our  Regiment. — No  Escape. — A  Fixed  Resolve. — 
Randolph.— Camp  Life.— Sabbath.— Father  Daly.— Washing.— 
Fort  Wright. — Grand  Defect.— Rations.— Stolen  Waters. — Mu 
tiny.— Sentence. — Fort  Pillow.— Slaves.— Aiding  the  Rebellion. 
— Deep  Earnestness  of  the  People. — Strength  of  the  Fort. — 
"  Pillow's  Trot  Line."— No  Pay,  and  the  Result.— Gen.  Pillow 
described. — Columbus,  Ky. — Hard  Work. — Pillow  in  the  Ditch. 
—The  Batteries.— Torpedoes.— Battle  of  Belmont.— False  Re 
port. — Troops  cross. — Untimely  Joking.— The  Tide  of  Battle.  - 
A  Charge. — Cruelty. — Victory. — Why? — Loss. — Burial  of  the 
Dead. — How  Not  to  Kill.— Accident. — The  Military  Bishop. 

THE  fine  horse,  which  was  to  have  carried 
me  to  Nashville  and  thence  to  Kentucky,  was 
kindly  disposed  of  by  an  auctioneer,  and  the 
price,  minus  a  handsome  commission,  handed 
to  me,  and  then  I  commenced  service  in  the 
"  Jeff.  Davis  Invincibles,"  Co.  B,  Second  Tenn. 
Volunteers,  under  command  of  J.  Knox  Walker, 
of  Memphis.  I  still  entertained  some  hope  of 
escape,  as  I  had  not  yet  taken  the  oath ;  and  I 
worked  hard  to  obtain  information  which  might 
aid  my  purpose.  I  could  find  no  one  to -trust, 


IN    THE    REBEL     ARMY.  4:1 

and  dare  not  be  too  inquisitive  about  roads  and 
distances. 

The  first  regiment  raised  in  Memphis  was 
composed  largely  of  the  upper  classes,  and 
represented  many  millions  of  property.  It  was 
of  the  same  type  as  the  7th  regiment  of  New 
York,  whereas  the  second  contained  about  750 
Irishmen,  chiefly  Catholics,  in  character  like  the 
fine  69th  New  York.  We  camped  in  the  Fair 
Ground,  a  short  distance  from  the  city,  an  in- 
closure  of  some  seven  acres,  surrounded  by  a 
high  board  fence,  and  guarded  by  thickly  sta 
tioned  sentinels.  As  these  sentinels  were  not 
from  our  newly-formed  regiment,  but  from 
trusted  companies  of  older  standing,  I  was  soon 
convinced  there  was  no  chance  of  escape,  and 
resigned  myself  to  the  necessities  of  my  lot. 

This  being  once  settled,  my  first  resolution 
was  to  master  all  the  details  of  military  duty, 
and  perfect  myself  in  drill,  feeling  conscious  of 
ability  soon  to  rise  above  the  station  of  a  private 
soldier.  This  determination  saved  me  from  de 
spondency,  and  was  of  signal  advantage  in  sub 
sequent  adventures. 


42  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

On  May  6tli  we  received  orders  to  proceed  to 
Randolph,  sixty-five  miles  above  Memphis,  on 
the  Tennessee  shore  of  the  Mississippi  river,  ar 
riving  by  boat  on  the  7th.  The  town  of  Ran 
dolph,  which  formerly  contained  about  three 
hundred  inhabitants,  is  situated  above  high- 
water  mark  on  a  narrow  strip  of  land  nearly 
three  hundred  yards  wide,  behind  which  rises  a 
bluff  ninety  feet  high  and  very  steep.  On  this 
bluff,  overlooking  the  town  and  the  river,  we 
established  our  camp,  and  here  commenced  our 
real  soldier's  life.  The  daily  routine  was  as  fol 
lows  :  Reveille  at  5  A.  M.  ;  drill  from  5J  to  7^ ; 
breakfast,  7^ ;  fatigue  call  from  8  to  10 ;  orderly 
call,  10 ;  dinner,  12,  M.  ;  fatigue  from  1  P.  M.  to 
4 ;  drill  and  dress  parade  from  4-|  to  7^ ;  supper, 
8  ;  tattoo,  9  p.  M.  The  fatigue  call  did  not  mean 
rest,  but  work. 

Thus  we  toiled  for  eight  weary  weeks  without 
rest,  except  as  the  Sabbath — the  blessed  day  of 
rest — gave  us  some  relaxation.  My  observation, 
even  so  early  in  my  military  life,  convinced  me 
that  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath  is  no  less  a 
physical  necessity  than  a  religious  duty — though 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  43 

I  can  not  say  that  our  regiment  kept  it  with  a 
very  intelligent  view  of  its  sacred  character. 
Our  chaplain,  Father  Daly,  celebrated  mass  in 
the  morning,  preached  a  sermon  in  the  after 
noon,  and  in  the  evening  settled  the  drunken 
rows — which  were  entirely  too  numerous  to  rec 
ommend  to  a  Protestant  youth  the  religion  of 
which  the  priest  was  nevertheless  a  very  favor 
able  representative.  His  influence  was  vastly 
important  as  a  governing  power,  and  he  wielded 
it  wisely  and  kindly. 

The  idleness  of  the  Sabbath  was  a  great  evil, 
as  there  was  nothing  to  read,  and  card-playing 
and  cock-fighting  were  the  chief  amusements. 
This  was  also  our  wash-day,  and  the  ration  of 
soap  issued  for  six  men  was  only  enough  to 
wash  one  shirt ;  hence  this  was  given  by  lot  to 
one  of  the  mess,  and  the  others  were  content 
with  the  virtue  of  water  alone.  While  our  regi 
ment  was  often  commended  for  its  ability  in 
building  fortifications,  no  one  ventured  to  com 
pliment  its  cleanliness. 

Soon  after  we  camped  at  Eandolph  I  was  ap 
pointed  third  sergeant,  and  after  serving  a  few 


44  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

days  as  such  was  promoted  to  orderly  sergeant. 
This  position,  of  course,  exempted  me  from 
actual  labor  in  the  trenches,  but  I  had  to  over 
see  a  squad  of  workmen.  During  these  two 
months  we,  with  three  other  regiments,  built 
Fort  Wright,  an  irregular  fortification,  inclos 
ing  about  thirty  acres.  The  fort  had  no  spring 
of  water  within  the  line  of  intrenchment ;  and 
after  long  deliberation  about  some  means  of 
supplying  it  with  this  indispensable  article, — 
during  which  time  we  carried  every  bucket  of 
water  used  from  the  river, — the  engineers  erect 
ed  a  small  wheezy  second-hand  steam-pump  on 
the  bank  of  the  river,  which  was  intended,  to 
force  the  water  up  the  bluff  into  a  large  cistern 
that  had  been  constructed  for  that  purpose. 
The  cistern  held  about  a  week's  supply  for  two 
thousand  men ;  but  they  never  seemed  to  think 
that  a  single  cannon-ball  could  smash  up  the 
pump  and  cut  off  our  supply  of  water.  If  this 
defect  had  been  remedied,  and  the  fort  had  been 
well  armed  and  manned,  it  would  have  been 
hard  to  take ;  but  it  never  availed  any  thing  to 
the  Confederate  service.  We  built  four  bat- 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  45 

terics  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  three  of  them 
mounting  three  guns  each,  and  the  lower  one 
six  guns.  These  guns  were  32  and  64  pound 
ers.  Three  miles  further  up,  above  the  mouth 
of  Hatchie  river,  another  battery  of  three  32- 
pounders  was  built. 

Our  rations  at  this  time  were  neither  very 
lavishly  given  nor  very  choice  in  quality,  yet 
there  was  no  actual  suffering.  For  the  first 
month  whiskey  was  served,  and  the  men  were 
satisfied  to  work  for  the  promise  of  forty  cents 
a  day  extra  pay  and  three  drams.  In  the  fifth 
week  the  drains  were  stopped,  and  the  extra  pay 
never  began.  I  am  letting  that  little  bill  against 
the  Jeff.  Davis  government,  and  some  larger 
ones,  run  at  interest.  The  reader  will  agree 
with  me  that  they  are  likely  to  run  some 
time. 

"  Stolen  waters  are  sweet,"  says  high  author 
ity,  but  some  of  our  regiment  seemed  to  set  a 
higher  value  upon  stolen  liquor.  While  the 
whiskey  ration  was  continued,  there  wras  little 
drunkenness.  The  men  were  satisfied  with  the 
limited  amount  given,  and  the  general  health 


46  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

of  all  was  good.  When  the  spirit  ration  was 
stopped,  illicit  trade  in  the  "  crathur"  was  car 
ried  on  by  Jews  and  peddlers,  who  hung  around 
the  camp  a  short  distance  out  in  the  woods. 
The  search  after  these  traders  by  the  authori 
ties  was  so  vigilant,  that  at  last  there  was  no 
whiskey  vended  nearer  than  the  little  town  of 
Covington,  eight  miles  distant.  This,  however, 
did  not  deter  the  men  from  making  frequent 
trips  to  this  place  after  it.  Various  expedients 
were  resorted  to,  in  order  to  bring  it  inside  of 
the  guard-lines.  Some  stopped  the  tubes  on 
their  guns,  and  filled  the  barrel  with  liquor. 
The  colonel,  while  passing  a  tent  one  day,  saw 
one  of  the  men  elevate  his  gun  and  take  a  long 
pull  at  the  muzzle.  He  called  out,  "  Pat,  what 
have  you  got  in  your  gun  ?  Whiskey  ?" 

He  answered — "  Colonel,  I  was  looking  into 
the  barrel  of  my  gun  to  see  whether  she  was 
clean." 

The  colonel  walked  on,  muttering  something 
about  the  curiosity  of  a  man's  eyes  being  located 
in  his  mouth.  He  was  no  sooner  out  of  sight 
than  Pat  inspected  his  weapon  again,  and  from 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  47 

the  sigh  of  regret  which  escaped  him  as  he  low 
ered  it,  I  judged  that  it  was  "  clean  dry" 

During  our  stay  at  Fort  "Wright,  we  were  all 
thrown  into  commotion  one  day  hy  a  mutiny, 
which  for  a  time  threatened  very  serious  conse 
quences.  Some  of  the  members  of  Captain  Cos 
set's  company,  of  our  regiment,  having  found  a 
treasure  in  the  shape  of  a  barrel  of  whiskey, 
which  an  unlucky  trader  had  not  concealed 
securely  from  their  vigilance,  got  drunk,  "  ov 
coorse,"  and  determined  to  show  their  inde 
pendence  of  military  rule  by  absenting  them 
selves  from  evening  dress-parade.  The  colonel, 
noticing  the  small  number  present  from  this 
company,  instructed  Lieutenant  Beard,  then 
acting  captain,  to  have  all  the  absentees  arrest 
ed  and  sent  to  the  guard-house.  When  parade 
was  dismissed,  and  the  company  returned  to 
their  quarters,  the  lieutenant  gave  the  order  to 
one  of  the  sergeants,  who  was  himself  intoxi 
cated.  On  attempting  to  carry  out  the  order, 
the  sergeant  was  badly  beaten  by  one  of  the 
offenders.  A  private  in  the  company  by  the 
name  of  "Whalen,  here  interfered  and  rescued 


4:8  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

the  sergeant  from  the  hands  of  his  assailant. 
At  this  moment  the  regimental  quartermaster, 
Isaac  Saffarrens,  a  brother  of  the  redoubtable 
hero  of  Belmont,  whose  deeds  of  valor  will  be 
duly  chronicled,  appeared  on  the  scene  of  ac 
tion,  and  attempted  to  arrest  the  man  Whalen, 
whose  only  crime  had  been  committed  in  saving 
the  sergeant  from  further  beating.  Whalen 
told  him  that  he  would  not  be  arrested,  as  he 
had  not  created  any  disturbance.  The  quarter 
master  then  tried  to  seize  him,  and  was  knocked 
down  for  his  trouble.  By  this  time  a  crowd  of 
officers  had  hurried  to  the  ground,  and  the  sur 
geon  of  the  regiment,  Dr.  Cavenaugh,  came  to 
the  assistance  of  his  brother  officer,  and  got  a 
pair  of  damaged  eyes  for  his  interference.  The 
drunken  company,  who  were  really  the  proper 
subjects  for  punishment,  now  sided  with  Wha- 
len,  and  loaded  their  guns  with  the  avowed  in 
tention  of  shooting  all  the  officers  if  they  again 
attempted  to  take  him.  In  the  melee  that  fol 
lowed,  one  of  the  officers  shot  Whalen,  but  the 
ball  glanced  from  his  forehead,  leaving  only  a 
red  line  on  the  skin,  and  he  was  soon  on  his 


IN    THE     REBEL    ARMY.  49 

feet.  He  used  no  weapon  but  his  fist ;  but  lie 
knocked  the  officers  down  as  fast  as  they  ap 
proached.  Reinforcements  now  arrived  for  the 
officers.  Colonel  Walker,  seeing  that  a  general 
mutiny  was  imminent,  ordered  out  two  bat 
teries  of  light  artillery  and  t\vo  companies  of 
infantry.  The  guns  were  placed  so  as  to  sweep 
the  camp  of  the  mutineers,  and  they  were  sum 
moned  to  surrender.  They  had  intrenched 
themselves  behind  a  large  mass  of  rock,  whence 
it  would  have  been  difficult  to  dislodge  them 
without  serious  loss  of  life.  After  some  delib 
eration,  they  agreed  to  surrender  if  they  were 
allowed  to  retain  their  arms  and  return  to  duty. 
This  proposition  was  of  course  rejected,  and  the 
guns  were  double-shotted  with  grape,  and  a  sec 
ond  summons  to  surrender  sent  to  them.  This 
time  they  obeyed  and  threw  down  their  arms, 
which  were  secured,  and  they  were  soon  strong 
ly  guarded.  I  was  detailed  the  same  evening, 
with  a  number  of  others,  to  guard  these  muti 
neers.  During  the  night  a  fight  occurred  be 
tween  one  of  the  mutineers  and  a  prisoner  in 
the  guard-house.  I  interfered  between  them. 


50  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

and  was  handsomely  whipped  by  both  of  them. 
This  was  too  much  for  any  one  to  stand,  and 
seizing  a  gun  from  a  sentinel  I  pinned  one  of 
them  to  the  wall  of  the  guard-house  with  the 
bayonet,  and  the  other  was  bound  by  the 
guard.  I  now  released  the  man  I  had  pinned 
to  the  wall,  and  was  glad  to  find  that  he  was 
only  slightly  wounded  in  the  side.  He  was 
also  ironed  and  confined  in  the  black-hole. 

Fourteen  of  these  mutineers  were  tried  in  a 
few  days  by  a  general  court-martial.  Whalen 
was  sentenced  to  death.  Four  of  the  others 
were  sentenced  to  wear  a  ball  and  chain  for  a 
month,  and  lose  six  months'  pay.  Three  of 
these  being  non-commissioned  officers  were  pub 
licly  degraded,  and  put  into  the  ranks.  The 
remainder  were  sentenced  to  wear  a  ball  and 
chain  for  a  month,  and  lose  three  months'  pay. 
Whalen's  sentence  was  to  have  been  carried  out 
a  month  from  the  time  he  was  tried  ;  but  as 
there  was  a  strong  feeling  of  indignation  in  the 
regiment  about  the  severity  of  his  sentence,  a 
recommendation  for  pardon  was  presented  to 
General  Pillow,  and  Whalen  was  reprieved  and 


IN    THE    KEBEL    ARMY.  51 

sent  to  Memphis.  He  was  at  last  pardoned, 
and  transferred  into  a  regiment  which  went-  to 
Virginia.  This  was  done  that  he  might  not 
return  to  the  regiment  again  and  encourage 
others  to  mutiny,  holding  out  his  own  exam 
ple  of  pardon  as  a  safeguard  against  punish 
ment. 

What  effect  this  leniency  had  on  the  future 
conduct  of  this  regiment  will  be  hereafter  seen. 
It  will  be  observed  that  this  mutiny  might  have 
occurred  in  any  army.  Others  yet  to  be  de 
scribed  had  their  origin  in  the  defects  of  the 
Rebel  discipline,  and  will  demonstrate  radical 
evils  in  their  system. 

One  of  the  most  serio-comic  •  affairs  that  oc 
curred  during  my  service,  may  be  worth  the 
narration.  Shortly  after  reaching  Randolph, 
one  of  our  sergeants  named  Brown  imported  his 
better-half  from  Memphis,  and  for  some  days 
they  agreed  remarkably  well ;  but  the  sergeant 
obtaining  a  jug  of  whiskey  one  day,  and  imbib 
ing  too  much  of  the  potent  fluid,  made  up  his 
mind  that  Mrs.  Brown  should  not  drink  any 
more,  and  informed  her  of  his  decision  He 


$2  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

argued  in  a  masterly  way  that,  as  they  two 
were  one,  he  would  drink  enough  for  both  ;  and 
she  being  fond  of  the  crathur,  demurred  to  this 
proposition.  Thereupon  ensued  a  very  lively 
scene.  Mrs.  Brown,  who  weighed  some  four 
teen  stone,  and  was  fully  master  of  her  weight, 
intrenched  herself  behind  some  boxes  and  bar 
rels,  with  the  precious  jug  in  charge.  Mr. 
Brown  first  tried  compromise,  and  then  flattery, 
but  she  was  proof  against  such  measures. 

Mr.  Brown.  Mrs.  Brown,  my  dear,  jist  eome 
over  to  me  now  and  we'll  argue  the  matter. 

Mrs.  Brown.  N"o,  you  don't,  Sergeant,  ye 
don't  catch  me  wid  any  ov  ye'r  compromises. 
I  have  the  jug  now,  and  I'll  hould  on  to  it.  So 
I  will. 

Mr.  B.  Shure,  Honey,  I  was  only  jokin7 
wid  ye  before.  Ye  may  hev  half  o'  the  crathur. 

Mrs.  B.  Now,  Sergeant,  ye  may  as  well 
hould  ye'r  tongue,  for  a  drap  ov  this  liker  ye'll 
never  touch  agin. 

Maddened  to  desperation,  the  sergeant  at 
tacked  Mrs.  Brown,  who  valiantly  defended 
herself  with  half  of  a  tent-pole  which  lay  near 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  53 

at  liand.  About  this  juncture,  their  "  discussion 
wid  stick.*"  was  interrupted  by  the  captain  or 
dering  out  a  guard  of  four  men  to  take  the  pair 
and  put  them  in  confinement.  As  I  was  Or 
derly  Sergeant,  I  immediately  attempted  to 
carry  out  this  order,  and  arrested  the  sergeant 
first.  I  then  advanced  to  seize  Mrs.  Brown, 
but  she  charged  with  the  tent-pole,  and  as  the 
four  men  were  engaged  in  carrying  off  the  ser 
geant,  who  resisted  desperately,  and  called  lus 
tily  to  Mrs.  Brown  for  assistance,  I  was  forced 
to  beat  a  hasty  retreat  and  seek  reinforcements, 
at  the  same  time  feeling  a  very  unpleasant 
tingling  sensation  across  my  shoulders  from  a 
blow  Mrs.  Brown  had  administered  with  her 
stick.  Being  reinforced  by  several  more  men, 
we  surrounded  the  enemy,  and  she  surrendered 
at  discretion,  and  was  put  under  guard  in  the 
middle  of  the  parade  ground  with  her  affection 
ate  spouse.  Then  ensued  a  scene  which  almost 
beggars  description. 

Mrs.  B.  O  Brown,  ye  cowardly  spalpeen ! 
to  stand  by  and  see  yer  wife  abused  in  sich  a 
manner ! 


54  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

Jl//*.  B.  Now,  honey,  be  aisy,  can't  ye  ? 
Shure  I  was  tied  before  they  took  ye. 

Mrs.  13.  Shure  it  was  meself  that  riz  ye  up 
out  ov  the  streets,  and  give  ye  six  hundred  dol 
lars  that  I  had  in  bank,  and  made  a  gintleman 
ov  ye ;  and  now  ye  wouldn't  rize  yer  hand  to 
protect  me ! 

Here  Mrs.  Brown  again  became  very  angry, 
and  would  have  given  her  lord  a  good  drub 
bing,  if  the  guard  had  not  interfered  and  sep 
arated  them.  Mrs.  Brown  became  so  furious 
that  the  colonel  heard  the  disturbance,  and 
walked  down  from  his  quarters  to  see  what  it 
meant.  She  immediately  demanded  to  be  re 
leased,  but  this  the  colonel  refused ;  and  she 
then  cited  many  illustrious  military  men  who 
had  been  tyrants  in  some  cases,  but  never  so 
daring  as  to  put  a  woman  under  arrest. 

Jfrs.  B.  Now,  Colonel,  I  want  to  tell  ye  a 
thing  or  two.  Gineral  Washington,  nor  the 
Duke  of  Willington,  nor  Napoleon  niver  put  a 
woman  under  guard,  nor  ye  haven't  any  right 
to  do  it ;  and  I'll  have  ye  court-martialed,  ac 
cord  in'  to  the  Articles  of  War.  So  I  will. 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  55 

Colonel.  Mrs.  Brown,  if  you  do  not  be  quiet 
I  \yill  gag  you. 

Mrs.  E.  Yell  gag  me,  will  ye?  Well,  I'd 
like  to  see  ye  about  it.  Ye  would  make  a  nice 
reputation  to  yerself,  gaggin'  a  woman ! 

Colonel.  Very  well,  Mrs.  Brown,  I  will  show 
you  that  I  am  in  earnest.  Sergeant,  place  a  gag 
in  that  woman's  mouth. 

Mrs.  B.  Och,  Colonel  dear,  ye  wouldn't  be 
so  bad  as  that,  would  ye  ?  Shure,  Colonel,  I'll 
be  jist  as  quiet  as  a  lamb.  So  I  will. 

Colonel.  Well,  Mrs.  Brown,  if  you  will 
promise  to  behave  yourself  I  will  not  gag  you ; 
but  you  must  not  make  any  more  noise. 

Mrs.  Brown  promised  obedience  and  was  soon 
after  released,  and  went  to  her  tent  to  search  for 
the  precious  jug  and  drown  her  sorrows  in  an 
other  dram  ;  but  while  the  melee  had  been  going 
on  I  had  smashed  the  jug,  and  she  came  back 
again  to  bewail  her  sorrows  with  Brown,  who 
was  still  under  guard.  He  was  soon  after  re 
leased,  and  they  returned  to  their  quarters  a 
wiser  if  not  a  happier  pair.  That  night  Mrs. 
Brown  was  heard  to  say  : 


56  THIRTEEN     MONTHS 

"  Sergeant  Brown,  ye  made  a  fool  ov  yerself 
to-day." 

u  Yis,  Missus  Brown,  I  think  we  both  made 
a  fool  of  ourself.  So  I  do." 

About  the  first  of  July  we  were  ordered  to 
Fort  Pillow,  which  is  by  land  fourteen  miles 
above,  on  the  same  side  of  the  river.  When 
we  reached  that  place,  they  were  daily  expect 
ing  an  attack  from  the  gunboats,  of  wrhich  we 
had  heard  so  much,  but  had  not  yet  seen  or 
feared.  Here  the  commanders  wanted  to  exact 
the  same  amount  of  toil  as  at  Fort  Wright ;  but 
the  men  drew  up  petitions,  requesting  that  the 
planters,  who  were  at  home  doing  nothing, 
should  send  their  slaves  to  work  on  the  fortifi 
cations.  General  Pillow  approved  of  this  plan, 
and  published  a  call  for  laborers.  In  less  than 
a  month,  TOGO  able-bodied  negro  men  were  at 
work,  and  there  would  have  been  twice  as 
many,  if  needed.  The  planters  were,  and  are 
yet,  in  bloody  earnest  in  this  rebellion ;  and 
my  impression,  since  coming  North,  is,  that  the 
mass  of  Union-loving  people  here  are  asleep, 
because  they  do  not  fully  understand  the  re- 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  57 

sources  and  earnestness  of  the  South.  There  is 
no  such  universal  and  intense  earnestness  here, 
as  prevails  all  over  the  Rebel  States.  Refined 
and  Christian  women,  feeling  that  the  Northern 
armies  are  invading  their  homes,  cutting  oft' 
their  husbands  and  brothers,  and  sweeping 
away  their  property,  are  compelled  to  take  a 
deeper  interest  in  the  struggle  than  the  masses 
of  the  North  are  able  to  do,  removed  as  they 
are  from  the  horrors  of  the  battle-scenes,  and 
scarcely  yet  feeling  the  first  hardship  from  the 
war.  Indeed,  I  do  not  doubt  that  regiments  of 
women  could  be  raised,  if  there  was  any  thing 
they  could  do  in  the  cause  of  the  South.  That 
they  are  all  wrong,  and  deeply  blinded  in 
warring  against  rightful  authority,  makes  them 
none  the  less,  perhaps  the  more,  violent. 

The  employment  of  slaves  to  do  the  hard 
work  was  of  great  advantage  in  several  respects. 
It  allowed  the  men  to  drill  and  take  care  of 
their  health,  as  the  planters  sent  overseers  who 
superintended  the  negroes.  It  kept  the  men  in 
better  spirits,  and  made  them  more  cheerful  to 
endure  whatever  legitimately  belongs  to  a  sol- 


58  THIRTEEN     MONTHS 

dier's  life,  when  they  had  slaves  to  do  the  toil 
some  work.  These  slaves  were  not  armed,  01 
relied  upon  to  do  any  fighting.  I  have  no 
means' of  judging  how  they  would  have  fought, 
as  I  never  saw  them  tried. 

The  natural  situation  of  Fort  Pillow  is  the 
best  I  saw  on  the  Mississippi  river.  It  is  built 
on  what  is  called  the  First  Chickasaw  Bluff. 
Fort  "Wright  is  on  the  second,  and  Memphis  on 
the  third  bluff  of  the  same  name.  The  river 
makes  a  long  horseshoe  bend  here,  and  the  fort 
is  built  opposite  the  lower  end  of  this  bend,  so 
that  boats  are  in  range  for  several  miles. 

The  first  battery  built  here  was  just  above 
high-water  mark,  and  nearly  half  a  mile  long. 
Bomb-proof  magazines  were  placed  in  the  side 
of  the  hill ;  and  more  than  twenty  guns  of 
heavy  calibre,  32  and  64-pounders,  were  mount 
ed  on  double  casemate  carriages;  and  it  was 
intended  to  mount  many  more.  A  formidable 
defence  was  this  expected  to  be  against  the 
gunboats. 

We  also  made  a  fine  military  road,  thirty  feet 
wide,  cut  out  of  the  side  of  the  bluff,  and  as- 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  59 

cending  gradually  to  the  summit.  It  served 
the  double  purpose  of  a  road,  and  also  a  protec 
tion  for  riflemen  ;  as  a  bank  was  thrown  up  on 
the  outer  edge  of  it  breast  high.  "Where  the 
road  reached  the  summit  of  the  bluff,  was 
placed  a  six-inch  mortar,  mounted  on  a  pivot 
carriage ;  and  a  little  further  on  was  a  battery, 
mounting  three  eight-inch  mortars,  which  were 
cast  in  1804,  and  looked  as  if  they  had  seen 
much  service.  A  great  extent  of  ground  was 
cleared  on  the  summit,  and  extensive  land  de 
fences  laid  out ;  but  while  these  were  in  progress 
we  were  ordered  away. 

The  river  was  blockaded  a  short  distance 
below  Fort  Pillow  in  a  novel,  but  not  very  effi 
cient  manner.  Flat-boats  were  anchored  in  the 
river  about  one  hundred  yards  apart,  and  heavy 
chain-cables  stretched  across  them.  This  was 
intended  to  stop  the  boats  which  should  attempt 
to  run  past  the  fort,  until  the  land  batteries 
could  sink  them.  This  all  did  very  well,  until 
a  rise  in  the  river,  when  the  boats  lifted  the 
anchors,  broke  the  chains,  floated  away  down 
the  river,  and  stuck  on  a  bar  several  miles 


60  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

below.  This  blockade  was  facetiously  called  by 
the  men,  "  Pillow's  trot-line." 

Here  again  the  independent  character  of  the 
men  composing  our  regiment  showed  itself  more 
strongly  than  at  Fort  Wright.  The  regiment 
had  now  been  without  pay  or  bounty  for  nearly 
four  months,  and  the  men  determined  to  find 
out  why  it  was  not  forthcoming.  One  morn 
ing,  at  drill-call,  the  men  in  my  own  company 
marched  out  and  stacked  their  arms,  refusing  to 
drill.  I  then  proceeded  to  call  the  roll,  but  no 
one  answered.  I  then  reported  to  the  captain 
that  no  one  had  answered  to  roll-call,  but  that 
all  the  "  absentees  were  present"  in  camp.  He 
ordered  me  to  take  a  guard  and  arrest  every 
one  who  refused  to  fall  into  ranks.  But  the 
question  now  arose,  where  was  the  guard  to 
come  from — no  one  would  answer  to  the  guard 
detail  ? 

The  captain  went  to  the  colonel,  and  reported 
his  company  in  a  state  of  mutiny.  Colonel 
Walker  immediately  mounted  his  horse,  and 
galloping  to  our  quarters,  ordered  the  men  to 
take  their  arms  and  proceed  to  the  drill-ground. 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  61 

Not  a  man  moved  to  obey  this  order,  although 
a  few  would  have  done  so  had  they  not  feared 
the  vengeance  of  their  comrades.  The  colonel 
stormed  and  swore,  and  assured  them  that  he 
would  have  them  all  shot  next  morning,  if  they 
did  not  return  to  duty ;  but  finally,  cooling 
down  a  little,  he  demanded  of  them  the  reason 
for  refusing  to  do  duty.  Some  of  them  an 
swered  that  they  wanted  their  money.  He 
scornfully  asked  them,  if  they  came  out  to  fight 
for  the  paltry  sum  of  eleven  dollars  a  month ; 
upbraiding  them  with  their  lack  of  patriotism. 
One  of  the  men  remarked,  that  the  officers 
could  afford  to  be  very  patriotic,  as  they  drew 
their  pay  regularly  every  month.  The  colonel 
then  got  wrathful  again,  and  ordered  out  the 
rest  of  the  regiment  to  quell  the  mutiny ;  but 
in  the  mean  time  they  had  come  to  the  same 
resolution,  and  refused  to  move.  He  then  placed 
all  the  commissioned  officers  of  the  regiment 
under  arrest,  for  not  quelling  the  mutiny.  A* 
there  was  but  one  other  regiment  at  Fort  Pillow 
at  that  time,  they  could  not  put  it  down  by 
force.  In  two  days  we  were  paid,  and  all  re 


62  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

turned  peaceably  to  duty.  Colonel  Walker  was 
then  put  under  arrest  by  General  Pillow,  and 
tried  by  a  court-martial,  for  allowing  his  regi 
ment  to  be  off  duty  for  two  days,  but  he  was 
acquitted. 

General  Pillow,  from  whom  this  fort  received 
its  name,  is  a  short,  stoutly  built  man,  about 
fifty  years  of  age ;  has  a  mild,  pleasant  expres 
sion  when  not  excited  ;  firm,  large  mouth  ;  gray 
eyes;  hair  and  whiskers  sprinkled  with  gray. 
He  is  fond  of  the  good  opinion  of  his  men,  and 
does  every  thing  consistent  with  military  rigor 
to  gain  their  good- will ;  nevertheless,  he  is  a 
strict  disciplinarian,  and  has  punished  several 
men  with  death  for  desertion  and  disobedience 
of  orders. 

About  the  middle  of  August,  General  Pillow's 
division,  including  my  regiment,  was  ordered 
to  Columbus.  On  our  way  we  passed  Island 
No.  10,  which  was  then  being  fortified,  and  did 
not  stop  again  until  we  landed  at  Columbus, 
Kentucky.  This  town  is  situated  on  the  east 
bank  of  the  Mississippi  river,  140  miles  above 
Fort  Pillow,  and  20  miles  below  Cairo;  while, 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  63 

directly  across  the  river,  lie  two  or  three  houses 
which  are  designated  by  the  name  of  Belmont. 
The  hardships  of  Fort  Wright  were  here  re 
newed  ;  that  is,  hard  work  and  harder  drill. 
At  one  time  we  worked  twelve  hours  out  01. 
every  thirty-six,  so  that  every  other  work-turn 
came  at  night.  Generals  Polk,  Pillow,  Cheat- 
ham,  and  McGown  were  present  day  and  night, 
encouraging  the  men  with  words  of  cheer. 
General  Pillow  at  one  time  dismounted  and 
worked  in  the  trenches  himself,  to  quiet  some 
dissatisfaction  which  had  arisen.  The  night 
was  dark  and  stormy,  the  men  were  worn  out, 
and  many  gave  utterance  to  their  dissatisfaction 
at  having  to  work  on  such  a  night.  General 
Pillow  was  sitting  on  his  horse  near  by,  and 
occasionally  urging  on  the  men  the  necessity  of 
pressing  on  with  the  work  ;  when  an  old  Mexi 
can  war  veteran,  named  "W".  H.  Thomas,  who 
was  allowed  some  little  latitude  by  his  general, 
called  out,  "  Old  Gid,  if  you  think  there  is  so 
much  hurry  for  this  work,  suppose  you  get 
down  and  help  us  a  while."  The  general,  seeing 
that  he  had  an  opportunity  to  gain  popularity 


64:  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

with  the  men,  dismounted,  and  laying  aside  his 
sword  and  cloak,  worked  for  several  hours. 
This  was  a  feather  in  his  cap,  in  the  eyes  of 
the  poor  fellows,  for  many  a  day. 

An  immense  amount  of  work  was  performed 
here,  and  Columbus  was  often  called  the  "  Gib 
raltar  of  the  Mississippi  river,"  and  the  Con 
federate  generals  fancied  that  it  could  not  be 
taken.  The  town  itself  is  built  on  a  level  plain 
scarcely  above  high-water  mark,  as  it  has  been 
submerged  by  some  of  the  great  floods  of 
former  years.  A  range  of  hills  running  par 
allel  to  the  river,  rises  directly  north  of  the 
town.  On  these  hills  most  of  the  batteries 
were  erected,  and  extensive  breastworks  were 
also  thrown  up,  since  this  was  the  terminus  of 
the  Mobile  and  Ohio  railroad,  which  it  was 
important  to  keep  unobstructed,  as  the  only 
land  communication  to  Memphis  and  the  inte 
rior,  should  the  river  navigation  be  interrupted 
below  Columbus.  On  the  river  side  were  the 
heaviest  batteries.  A  sand-bag  battery  mount 
ing  six  heavy  guns,  was  constructed  at  the 
upper  end  of  the  town,  just  in  front  of  General 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  65 

Pillow's  head-quarters.  This  battery  was  con 
structed  by  filling  corn-sacks  with  sand,  and 
piling  them  up  in  tiers,  leaving  embrasures  for 
the  guns.  These  tiers  were  carried  several  feet 
above  the  heads  of  the  men  employed  in  work 
ing  the  guns,  so  that  they  were  comparatively 
safe;  for  if  a  ball  struck  the  battery,  it  was 
merely  buried  in  the  sand  and  no  damage  done. 
These  guns  were  thirty-two  and  sixty -four 
pounders,  brought  up  from  New  Orleang. 
About  a  mile  north  of  the  town,  where  the 
bluff  juts  out  flush  with  the  river,  a  shelf  had 
been  formed  by  a  landslide  about  half  way 
between  the  level  of  the  river  and  the  summit 
of  the  bluff.  This  shelf  was  enlarged  and 
leveled,  and  a  battery  constructed  upon  it 
which  completely  commanded  the  river  in  the 
direction  of  Cairo..  This  battery  was  large 
enough  to  mount  ten  or  twelve  heavy  guns. 
On  the  summit  of  the  bluff  was  placed  a  large 
Whitworth  rifled  gun,  carrying  a  round  shot 
weighing  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  pounds. 
Minie  shot  of  much  heavier  weight  were  also 
used  in  this  gun.  This  was  one  of  four  which 


66  THIRTEEN"    MONTHS 

ran  the  blockade  in  the  Bermuda  into  Charles 
ton,  South  Carolina,  in  the  early  autumn. 

All  these  works  were  constructed  under  the 
direction  of  competent  engineers,  the  chief  of 
whom  was  Captain  E.  D.  Pickett,  since  adju 
tant-general  to  Major-general  Hardee. 

Torpedoes  and  other  obstructions  were  placed 
in  the  river ;  but  all  this  kind  of  work  was  done 
secretly  by  the  engineer  corps,  and  the  soldiers 
Jmew  but  little  of  their  number  and  location. 
Some  of  these  torpedoes  were  made  of  cast  iron 
at  Memphis  and  Nashville,  and  would  hold 
from  one  to  two  hundred  pounds  of  powder  as 
a  charge.  Others  were  made  of  boiler  iron,  of 
different  shapes  and  sizes.  They  were  to  be 
suspended  near  the  surface  of  the  water  by 
chains  and  buoys,  and  discharged  by  wires 
stretched  near  the  surface,,  which  a  boat  would 
strike  in  passing  over  them.  I  never  learned 
that  these  infernal  machines  did  any  damage, 
except  that  one  of  them  nearly  destroyed  one  of 
their  own  transport  boats,  which  had  incau 
tiously  ventured  too  near  its  resting-place. 

After  spending  nearly  two   months  in   the 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  67 

monotonous  camp  life  of  drill  and  fatigue  duty, 
on  the  morning  of  the  7th  of  November  I  ex 
perienced  a  new  sensation,  more  startling  than 
agreeable.  I  had  as  yet  been  in  no  battle,  and 
certainly  had  no  desire  to  join  in  a  fight  against 
my  country  and  against  my  kindred,  some  of 
whom  I  had  no  doubt  were  in  the  opposing 
army,  as  it  was  recruited  where  many  of  them 
lived ;  and  I  knew  they  would  be  loyal  to  the 
old  flag,  and  ready  to  defend  it  with  their  lives. 
But  the  alarm  came  so  suddenly  that  I  had  no 
time  to  feign  sickness,  or  invent  an  excuse  for 
being  off  duty. 

Tappan's  Arkansas,  and  Russell's  Tennessee 
regiments,  with  a  battalion  of  Mississippi  cav 
alry,  about  fifteen  hundred  men  in  all,  who 
were  stationed  at  Belmont,  across  the  river, 
were  attacked,  about  seven  o'clock,  A.  M.,  by 
General  McClernand,  with  a  little  over  seven 
thousand  men,  according  to  Union  authorities. 
It  was  a  complete  surprise  to  us.  At  first  we 
thought  it  was  a  picket  skirmish  with  the 
cavalry;  but  soon  Frank  Cheatham,  our  brig 
adier,  came  galloping  through  the  camp,  bare- 


68  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

headed,  in  shirt  and  pantaloons,  ordering  us  to 
"  fall  in,"  saying  that  the  "  enemy  were  mur 
dering  the  sick  men  in  their  tents  across  the 
river."  The  report  thus  started  soon  took  this 
form :  "  The  Yankees  have  bayoneted  the  sick 
men  in  Russell's  regiment."  This  regiment 
was  composed  mostly  of  Irishmen,  as  was  ours. 
Instantly  the  rage  of  our  men  was  such  they 
could  scarcely  be  restrained,  and  many  of  them 
swore  they  would  swim  the  river  if  necessary, 
to  reach  the  enemy,  and  would  give  no  quarter. 

I  called  the  roll  of  the  company,  as  was  my 
duty,  and  found  seventy-nine  men  out  of  one 
hundred  and  three  present, — there  was  a  good 
deal  of  sickness  then  in  the  army.  Soon  four 
of  the  company  came  in  from  the  hospital, 
declaring  they  would  have  a  share  in  the  fight ; 
and  fourteen  who  were  on  guard  were  added, 
making  the  company  nearly  full. 

Two  steamboats  soon  had  steam  up,  and  by 
nine  A.  M.,  General  Pillow,  with  his  brigade  of 
three  thousand  five  hundred  men,  was  across 
the  river  and  in  the  fight. 

Up  to  this  time,  the  Federal  force  had  driven 


IN    THE     REBEL    ARMY.  69 

the  Confederates  back  from  their  camps,  and 
threatened  their  annihilation,  but  Pillow's  arri 
val  stayed  the  retreat.  By  ten  A.  M.,  Cheat- 
ham's  brigade  of  2500  men,  in  which  was  my 
regiment,  were  also  coming  into  the  engage 
ment.  By  eleven  A.  M.,  both  armies  were  fully 
employed.  In  the  mean  time  some  of  the  guns 
on  the  fortifications  at  Columbus  were  trying 
their  range  upon  the  Federal  gunboats,  which 
lay  about  three  miles  distant,  and  replied  fierce 
ly  to  their  challenges.  But  little  execution  on 
either  side  was  done  by  this  firing.  The  care 
lessness  of  the  officers  in  our  brigade  nearly 
lost  the  day,  early  in  the  contest.  The  men  had 
but  ten  rounds  of  ammunition,  which  was  soon 
expended,  and  we  were  compelled  to  retire  be 
neath  the  bank  of  the  river  until  more  was 
supplied. 

This  incident  developed  a  strange,  and  to  me 
a  very  sad,  trait  of  human  nature, — other  illus 
trations  of  which  I  have  observed  repeatedly 
since, — an  unusual  disposition  to  witticisms  in 
the  most  solemn  circumstances,  when  it  might 
be  supposed  that  even  the  most  hardened  would 


70  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

reflect  upon  the  fearful  fate  sure  to  seize  upon 
some  of  them.  One  of  the  captains  of  our  regi 
ment,  J.  L.  Saffarrens,  ran  into  the  river  waist- 
deep,  in  his  desire  for  safety,  when  one  of  his 
men  called  out,  "  Captain,  dear,  are  ye  off  for 
Memphis  ?  If  ye  are,  tell  the  ould  woman  the 
last  ye  saw  ov  me  I  was  fighting,  while  ye  were 
runnin'  away." 

The  gallant  captain  received  a  ball  in  the 
face,  while  stuck  in  the  mud  into  which  he  had 
sunk,  and  was  taken  to  Memphis  with  the 
wounded  next  day  ;  but  I  never  learned  that  he 
delivered  the  message  to  the  "ould  woman." 
A  curious  little  Irishman  in  our  company,  nick 
named  "Dublin  Tricks,"  who  was  extremely 
awkward,  and  scarcely  knew  one  end  of  his  gun 
from  the  other,  furnished  the  occasion  of  another 
outburst  of  laughter,  just  when  the  bullets  were 
flying  like  hail  around  us.  In  his  haste  or 
ignorance,  he  did  what  is  often  done  in  the  ex 
citement  of  rapid  firing  by  older  soldiers :  he 
rammed  down  his  first  cartridge  without  biting 
off  the  end,  hence  the  gun  did  not  go  off.  He 
went  through  the  motions,  putting  in  another 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  71 

load  and  snapping  his  lock,  with  the  same  re 
sult,  and  so  on  for  several  minutes.  Finally, 
he  thought  of  a  remedy,  and  sitting  down,  he 
patiently  picked  some  priming  into  the  tube. 
This  time  the  gun  and  Dublin  both  went  off. 
He  picked  himself  up  slowly,  and  called  out 
in  a  serio-comic  tone  of  voice,  committing  the 
old  Irish  bull,  "  Hould,  asy  with  your  laffin', 
boys ;  there  is  sivin  more  loads  in  her  yit." 

Another  Hibernian  called  out  to  his  men, 
"Ulivate  your  guns  a  little  lower,  boys,  and 
yell  do  more  execution." 

Such  jokes  were  common  even  amid  the  hor 
rors  of  battle.  However  unseemly,  they  served 
to  keep  up  the  spirits  of  the  men,  to  which  end 
other  spirits  contained  in  canteens  were  also 
freely  added.  A  most  reprehensible  practice 
this,  for  men  should  go  into  battle  free  from 
unnatural  excitement,  if  they  wish  to  serve  the 
cause  in  which  they  are  engaged ;  and  more 
over,  the  instances  of  cruelty  which  sometimes 
are  perpetrated  on  the  wounded  and  dying,  are 
caused  by  the  drunkenness  of  such  ruffians  as 
are  found  in  every  army. 


72  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

Our  brigade,  after  receiving  ammunition,  ex 
ecuted  a  flank  movement  on  McClernand's  left, 
next  the  river,  while  General  Pillow  was  hold 
ing  their  attention  in  front ;  this  came  very  near 
surrounding  and  capturing  the  Federal  force. 
For  five  hours  the  battle  raged  with  varying 
success,  the  Rebel  forces  on  the  whole  gaining 
upon  the  Federals.  Our  regiment  charged  and 
took  a  part  of  the  7th  Iowa. 

A  charge  is  a  grand  as  well  as  terrible  sight, 
and'  this  one,  to  my  inexperienced  eyes,  was 
magnificent.  I  had  often  witnessed,  with  wild 
delight,  the  meeting  of  thunder-clouds  in  our 
western  storms,  the  fierce  encounter,  the  blind 
ing  lightning,  the  rolling  thunder,  the  swaying 
to  and  fro  of  the  wind-driven  and  surging 
masses  of  angry  vapor,  the  stronger  current  at 
length  gaining  the  victory,  and  sweeping  all 
before  it.  With  an  intenser  interest  and  a 
wilder  excitement,  did  I  watch  these  eight  hun 
dred  men,  as  they  gathered  themselves  up  for 
the  charge.  At  the  word,  every  man  leaped 
forward  on  the  full  run,  yelling  as  if  all  the 
spirits  of  Tartarus  were  loosed.  In  a  moment 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  73 

comes  the  shock,  the  yells  sink  into  muttered 
curses,  and  soon  groans  are  heard,  and  the 
bayonet  thrusts  are  quick  and  bloody.  Brute 
strength  and  skill  often  meet,  and  skill  and 
agility  usually  win. 

The  Iowa  men  were  overpowered,  and  threw 
down  their  arms,  some  four  hundred  of  them, 
and  were  sent  to  the  rear,  and  afterward  to 
Memphis.  It  was  reported  that  this  Iowa  regi 
ment  had  murdered  the  sick  men  early  in  the 
day,  and  it  was  said  that  some  of  them  were 
bayoneted  after  they  surrendered.  I  saw  noth 
ing  of  this,  but  it  may  have  been  so.  If  so,  the 
author  of  that  accusation  was  responsible  for  the 
barbarity. 

I  do  not  doubt  such  cruelties  do  sometimes 
occur  in  the  heat  of  battle,  as  there  are  in  all 
armies  some  brutal  men;  but  I  must  do  the 
Eebel  officers  the  justice  to  state,  that  they 
always  condemned  them,  and  warned  us  against 
acts  not  sanctioned  by  the  laws  of  civilized 
warfare. 

The  Federals,  though  fighting  well,  so  far  as 
I  know,  commenced  falling  back  between  two 


74  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

and  three  P.  M.  The  retreat  soon  became  a  rout, 
and  was  a  running  fight  to  their  boats,  some 
three  miles.  The  Confederates  pressed  them 
hard,  and  recaptured  several  pieces  of  artillery 
lost  in  the  early  part  of  the  engagement,  and 
did  sad  execution  on  the  running  men  ;  even 
after  they  reached  the  gang-planks  of  their 
boats  many  were  shot.  I  know  of  no  reason 
why  the  Union  soldiers  were  routed,  unless  it 
was  the  better  fighting  of  the  Rebels.  The 
forces  were  about  equal,  and  neither  had  much 
advantage  in  ground.  General  Polk,  the  com 
manding  general  of  the  Rebels,  was  not  on  the 
ground  until  near  the  close  of  the  action,  and 
deserved  no  credit  for  the  success  of  his  men. 
General  Pillow  and  Brigadiers  Cheatham  and  Mc- 
Gown,  were  the  efficient  commanders  that  day. 
Our  wounded,  about  seven  hundred,  were 
carried  to  the  rear  during  the  engagement,  and 
forwarded  to  Memphis,  and  we  returned  and 
recrossed  the  river  to  our  camps  about  seven  p.  M, 
completely  exhausted.  Our  company  lost,  in 
killed  and  wounded,  twenty-three;  the  regi 
ment,  one  hundred  and  fifteen. 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  75 

The  next  day  parties  were  detailed  to  bury 
the  dead.  Ours  numbered  three  hundred.  We 
dug  trenches  six  feet  deep  and  four  wide,  and 
laid  the  bodies  in  side  by  side,  the  members  of 
each  company  together,  the  priest  saying  over 
them  his  prayers ;  the  whole  closed  by  three 
volleys  of  musketry.  The  Federal  dead  were 
also  gathered,  and  buried  in  like  manner,  except 
the  religious  services  and  military  salute.  Our 
company  buried  their  dead  just  before  sunset ; 
and  when  the  funeral  dirge  died  away,  and  the 
volleys  were  fired  over  their  graves,  many  a 
rugged  man,  whose  heart  was  steeled  by  years 
of  hardship  and  crime,  shed  tears  like  a  child, 
for  those  bound  to  him  by  such  ties  as  make  all 
soldiers  brothers.  One  of  the  worst  men  in  the 
company  excused  this  seeming  weakness  to  a 
companion  thus:  "Tim,  I  haven't  cried  this 
twenty  year ;  but  they  were  all  good  boys,  and 
my  countrymen."  The  next  day  when  the  roll 
was  called,  and  they  answered  not,  we  thought 
of  their  ghastly  faces  as  we  laid  them  in  the 
trench,  and  hearts  beat  quick.  When  we  sat 
down  to  eat  and  missed  a  messmate,  the  query 


T6  T  H  I  E  T  E  E  N    M  O  N  T  H  S 

went  round,  "Will  it  be  my  turn  next?"  A 
comrade's  faults  were  now  forgotten,  his  good 
qualities  magnified,  and  all  said,  "Peace  to  his 
ashes." 

I  may  here  say,  that  if  one  is  compelled  to 
fight  against  his  friends,  as  I  was,  there  are  sev 
eral  ways  in  which  he  can  avoid  taking  life.  A 
cartridge  without  a  ball,  a  pretended  discharge 
without  a  cap,  or  an  extra  elevation  of  the 
piece,  will  save  his  friends  and  not  expose  him 
to  suspicion.  Not  rarely,  also,  in  the  heat  of 
battle,  a  hated  officer  meets  his  fate  by  a  ball 
from  his  own  men,  instead  of  the  enemy. 

The  second  day  after  the  battle  a  sad  accident 
added  to  the  gloom.  A  crowd  had  assembled 
to  see  the  monster  Whitworth  rifled  gun  fired 
off,  as  it  had  continued  loaded  since  the  day  of 
the  fight.  She  was  named  the  "  Lady  Polk," 
and  the  militant  bishop  and  general  was  present 
to  add  interest  to  the  scene.  The  gunner  warned 
the  crowd  that  there  was  some  danger,  but  they 
heeded  not,  and  pressed  close  around.  The  gen 
eral  stood  near,  why  should  not  others?  I  stood 
within  thirty  feet,  and  as  the  gunner  ran  back 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  77 

with  the  lanyard,  so  did  I.  The  next  moment 
occurred  the  most  terrific  explosion  I  had  ever 
heard.  As  the  dust  and  smoke  lifted,  we  saw 
the  shattered  remains  of  nine  men ;  two  more 
died  subsequently  from  wounds  received  here. 
Both  the  percussion-shell  and  the  gun  had  burst, 
and  hence  the  destruction  of  life.  General  Polk 
narrowly  escaped ;  his  cloak  was  swept  from 
him  and  cut  in  two  as  with  a  sword. 

A  word  of  this  man,  who  laid  aside  his  spirit 
ual  for  military  duties,  will  close  my  history  of 
soldiering  on  the  Mississippi. 

Major-general  Leonidas  Polk  is  a  tall,  well- 
built  man,  about  fifty-five  years  of  age ;  hair 
slightly  gray ;  wears  side  whiskers,  which  are 
as  white  as  snow;  aquiline  nose,  and  firm 
mouth.  His  voice  is  a  good  one  for  command, 
and  having  a  West  Point  education,  improved 
by  many  years  of  research  on  military  science, 
it  was  expected  he  would  make  a  skillful  gen 
eral  ;  but  the  people  were  much  disappointed 
by  his  display  of  generalship  in  the  Western 
Department,  and  many  clamored  for  his  re 
moval.  It  was  at  one  time  thought  he  would 


78  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

be  called  to  the  Confederate  cabinet  as  Secre 
tary  of  State  ;  but  this  was  never  done.  Many 
of  his  old  friends  and  admirers  were  pained  to 
hear  the  report  circulated,  that  the  good  bishop 
indulged  in  profanity  when  he  got  too  deep  in 
his  potations ;  and  as  these  reports  were  in  part 
confirmed,  his  reputation  suifered  greatly. 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  79 


CHAPTER   III. 

ORDNANCE    SERVICE. 

Transferred  to  Ordnance. — Camp  Beauregard.— Was  my  Oath 
binding? — Resources  of  the  Rebels. — Cannon  stolen. — Manu 
factured. — A  Rifling  Machine. — Beauregard's  Bells. — Imported 
Cannon. — Running  Blockade. — Silence  of  Southern  Papers. — 
Small  Arms  made. — Altered. — Abundant. — Earnestness  of  all 
Classes. — Imported  Arms. — England's  Neutrality. — Ammuni 
tion  imported. — Manufactured. — Smuggled. — A  Railroad  Epi 
sode. — A  Deserting  Engineer. — A  New  Hand  at  the  Throttle. 
— Caution. — A  Smash  Up  and  Pistols. — Reconciliation. — Result 
of  Smash  Up. — Bowling  Green. — Size  of  Army. — Sickness. — 
Personal. — Kindness  of  Nashville  People. — Moral  and  Religious 
Efforts  for  the  Rebel  Army. — Vices  prevalent. — Seminaries  and 
Schools  disbanded. 

ON  the  14th  of  November,  I  was  breveted 
second  lieutenant  for  the  time,  that  I  might 
take  charge  of  a  shipment  of  ammunition  to 
Camp  Beanregard,  near  Feliciana,  a  small  town 
in  Graves  county,  Kentucky,  near  the  New 
Orleans  and  Ohio  railroad,  about  seventeen 
miles  from  Columbus.  This  place  was  held  by 
a  brigade  of  about  four  thousand  men,  under 
Brigadier-general  John  S.  Bowen,  as  a  key  to 


80  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

the  interior,  to  prevent  the  Federal  forces  from 
attacking  Columbus  in  the  rear. 

Having  now  spent  six  months  in  the  infantry, 
and  mastered  the  details  of  a  soldier's  common 
duties,  I  was  heartily  sick  of  the  life.  I  sought 
a  transfer  to  the  ordnance  department  and 
obtained  it,  with  the  rank  and  pay  of  ordnance 
sergeant.  Acting  on  the  ever-present  purpose, 
to  keep  my  eyes  and  ears  open  and  my  mouth 
generally  shut,  to  see  and  hear  all  and  say  little, 
I  knew  the  ordnance  department  would  open  a 
new  field  for  observation,  which  might  per 
chance  be  of  use  in  the  future, — a  future  that 
was  very  uncertain  to  me  then,  for  I  could  see 
no  daylight  as  to  escape.  I  may  as  well  admit 
here,  that  whenever  I  reflected  on  the  violation 
of  an  oath, — the  oath  to  bear  true  allegiance  to 
the  Confederate  Government, — I  had  some  hes 
itation.  An  older  and  wiser  head  would  per 
haps  have  soon  settled  it,  that  an  oath  taken 
under  constraint,  and  to  a  rebel  and  usurped 
power,  was  not  binding.  But  I  shrunk  from 
the  voluntary  breaking  of  even  an  involuntary 
bond,  in  which  I  had  invoked  the  judgment  of 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  81 

God  upon  me  if  I  should  not  keep  it.  To  this 
should  be  added  the  consideration,  which  per 
haps  had  too  much  weight  with  me,  that  as  I 
was  trusted  by  the  authorities  with  a  position  of 
some  importance,  my  honor  was  at  stake  in  ful 
filling  all  my  obligations.  The  idea  that  I  should 
betray  those  who  were  reposing  confidence  in 
me  at  the  time  and  become  a  deserter,  with  its 
odium  forever  following  me,  was  more  than  I 
could  contemplate  with  pleasure.  I  state  this  as 
the  exact  truth  in  the  case,  not  as  an  apology  for 
my  conduct.  Under  this  general  feeling,  I  con 
fess  I  strove  more  to  acquire  knowledge  where 
I  was,  than  to  escape  from  the  Rebel  service. 

During  the  six  weeks  I  was  attached  to  the 
ordnance  department,  I  learned  some  facts  which 
it  were  well  for  the  North  to  know.  Since 
reaching  home,  I  hear  wonder  expressed  at  two 
things:  the  vast  energy  of  the  South;  and 
their  unexpected  resources,  especially  in  the 
procuring  of  cannon,  small-arms,  and  ammu 
nition.  How  have  they  secured  and  man 
ufactured  an  adequate  supply  of  these,  during 
such  a  protracted  and  destructive  struggle  ? 


82  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

In  answer  to  this  inquiry  let  me  say :  The 
immense  supply  of  cannon — to  speak  of  them 
first — which  that  stupendous  thief  Floyd  trai 
torously  placed  in  the  Southern  forts  and  ar 
senals  during  his  term  of  office,  made  a  very 
good  beginning  for  this  arm  of  the  service.  It 
was  also  said  by  Southern  officers,  that  a  large 
number  of  guns  which  had  been  used  in  the 
Mexican  war  were  still  stored  in  the  South, — I 
have  heard,  at  Point  Isabel.  These  were  soon 
brought  into  use.  Many  old  Mexican  and 
Spanish  brass  guns  were  recast  into  modern 
field-pieces.  These  were  said  to  have  made  the 
finest  guns  in  the  Kebel  service,  because  of  the 
large  percentage  of  silver  contained  in  the 
metal. 

Yery  early  in  the  rebellion,  an  extensive 
establishment  for  the  manufacture  of  field 
artillery  existed  in  iSTew  Orleans,  which  sent 
&ut  beautiful  batteries.  These  batteries  I  saw 
in  various  parts  of  the  army.  This  factory  was 
wider  the  superintendence  of  Northern  and 
foreign  mechanics.  Memphis  supplied  some 
thirty-two  and  sixty -four  pounders,  also  a  nurn- 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  83 

her  of  iron  Parrott  guns.  These  were  cast  in 
the  navy  yard  by  the  firm  of  Street  &  Hunger- 
ford.  At  Nashville,  Tennessee,  the  firm  of  T. 
M.  Brennan  &  Co.  turned  out  a  large  amount 
of  iron  light  artillery  of  every  description  ;  and 
shortly  before  Nashville  was  evacuated,  they 
perfected  a  fine  machine  for  rifling  cannon, 
which  I  examined.  They  sent  a  spy  North,  who 
obtained,  it  was  said,  at  the  Fort  Pitt  foundery 
the  drawings  and  specifications  which  enabled 
their  workmen  to  put  up  this  machine.  This 
expensive,  and  to  them  valuable  machine,  was 
removed  to  Atlanta,  Georgia.  In  escaping 
home  I  came  through  Nashville  a  few  weeks 
since,  and  saw  about  a  dozen  large  cannon  still 
lying  at  this  foundery,  which  the  sudden  flight 
of  the  Rebels  from  Nashville  prevented  them 
from  rifling  or  carrying  away.  All  know  that 
the  Tredegar  Iron  Works  in  Richmond,  Virginia, 
is  an  extensive  manufactory  of  guns  of  large 
caliber.  Indeed,  every  city  of  the  South, 
having  a  foundery  of  any  size,  boasts  of  fur 
nishing  some  cannon. 

Many  of  these  guns  were  defective  and  even 


84  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

dangerous.  One  battery  from  the  Memphis 
foundery  lost  three  guns  in  a  month  by  bursting, 
one  of  them  at  the  battle  of  Belmont,  Novem 
ber  7th.  After  the  Rebel  reverses  at  Forts 
Henry  and  Donelson,  and  the  retreat  from 
Bowling  Green  and  Nashville,  when  General 
Beauregard  took  command  of  the  army  of  the 
Mississippi  valley,  he  issued  a  call  to  the 
citizens  for  bells  of  every  description.  In  some 
cities  every  church  gave  up  its  bell.  Court 
houses,  factories,  public  institutions,  and  plan 
tations,  sent  on  theirs.  And  the  people  fur 
nished  large  quantities  of  old  brass  of  every 
description — andirons,  candlesticks,  gas  fixtures, 
and  even  door-knobs.  I  have  seen  wagon  loads 
of  these  lying  at  railroad  depots,  waiting  ship 
ment  to  the  founderies.  The  Rebels  are  in 
earnest. 

But  the  finest  cannon  have  been  received 
from  England.  Several  magnificent  guns  of 
the  Whitworth  and  Blakely  patents  I  have 
seen,  or  heard  described  as  doing  good  execu 
tion  among  the  "  Yankees."  How  many  have 
been  imported  I  can  not  tell,  but  surely  a  large 


IN    THE    REBEL     ARMY.  85 

number.  In  explanation  of  my  ignorance  upon 
this  point,  let  me  state  this  fact.  For  some 
months  after  the  blockade  was  declared,  vessels 
from  Europe  were  running  it  constantly,  and 
the  Southern  papers  boastfully  told  of  their 
success.  The  Confederate  authorities  saw  the 
evil  of  this  publicity,  and  many  months  ago 
prohibited  the  notice  of  such  arrivals.  Hence 
we  see  no  mention  of  them  recently,  but  it  is  a 
great  mistake  to  imagine  that  there  are  none. 
The  constant  arrival  of  new  European  arms  and 
ammunition,  the  private  talk  in  well-informed 
circles,  the  knowledge  of  the  latest  European 
news,  and  especially  the  letters  from  Confed 
erate  emissaries  regularly  received  in  the  South, 
convince  me  that  the  blockade  is  by  no  means 
perfect.  From  the  innumerable  inlets  all.  along 
the  southeastern  coast,  and  the  perfect  knowl 
edge  possessed  of  these  by  Rebel  pilots,  it  is 
perhaps  impossible  that  it  should  be  so.  The 
wisdom  of  the  South  in  compelling  the  papers 
to  omit  all  mention  of  the  facts  in  this  case,  is 
most  unquestionable.  Well  would  it  be  for  the 
North  if  the  press  were  restrained  from  pub- 


86  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

lishing  a  thousand  things,  which  do  the  readers 
no  good,  and  which  constantly  give  aid  to  tho 
Rebel  leaders. 

As  to  small-arms,  the  energies  of  the  South 
have  been  more  fully  developed  in  their  manu 
facture  than  is  dreamed  of  by  the  North.  As 
early  as  April,  1861,  Memphis  had  commenced 
the  alteration  of  immense  quantities  of  flint 
lock  muskets,  sent  South  during  Floyd's  term 
as  Secretary  of  War.  I  saw  this  work  progress 
ing,  even  before  Secession  was  a  completed  fact 
there.  New  Orleans  turned  out  the  best  rifles 
I  ever  saw  in  the  South.  They  were  similar 
to  the  French  Minie  rifle,  furnished  with  fine 
sword-bayonets.  The  Louisiana  troops  were 
mostly  armed  with  these.  At  Nashville  and 
Gallatin,  Tennessee,  rifles  were  also  made,  and  I 
suppose  in  every  considerable  city  in  the  South. 
In  addition,  it  should  be  known  that  thousands 
of  Government  arms  were  in  the  hands  of  the 
people,  all  through  the  Southern  States ;  how 
they  procured  them  I  do  not  know.  These  were 
gathered  up  and  altered  or  improved,  and  issued 
to  the  troops.  Many  of  the  regiments  went  into 


INTHEKEBELARMY.  87 

the  field  armed  with  every  description  of  guns, 
from  the  small-bore  squirrel-rifle  and  double- 
barreled  shot-gun  to  the  ponderous  Queen  Bess 
musket  and  clumsy  but  effective  German  Yager 
The  regiments  were  furnished  as  fast  as  possible 
with  arms  of  one  kind,  and  the  others  returned 
to  the  factories  to  be  classified  and  issued  again. 
Sword-bayonets  were  fitted  to  double-barreled 
shot-guns,  making  them  a  very  effective  weapon. 
Others  were  cut  down  to  a  uniform  length  of 
about  twenty-four  inches,  and  issued  to  the 
cavalry.  Common  hunting-rifles  were  bored 
out  to  carry  a  Minie  ball,  twenty  to  the  pound, 
and  sword-bayonets  fitted  to  them.  One  entire 
brigade  of  Tennesseans,  under  General  Wm.  H. 
Carroll,  was  armed  with  these  guns. 

When  recovering  from  sickness  at  Nashville, 
I  spent  hours  of  investigation  in  the  base  of  the 
capitol,  used  as  an  armory,  where  an  immense 
amount  of  this  work  had  been  done.  I  have 
been  told  that  the  basement  of  our  National 
capitol  has  been  used  to  prepare  bread  for  loyal 
soldiers ;  that  basement  was  used  to  prepare 
them  bullets.  At  Bowling  Green  I  saw  many 


88  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

thousands  of  rifles  and  shot-guns  which  had 
been  collected  for  alteration,  and  the  machine- 
shop  of  the  Louisville  and  Nashville  railroad  was 
used  as  an  armory.  Many  of  these  guns  were 
destroyed,  and  others  left,  when  the  town  was 
evacuated.  Nor  should  it  be  forgotten  that  al 
most  every  man  of  any  position  owned  a  pair  of 
Colt's  repeaters,  many  of  them  of  the  army  and 
navy  size.  These  were  eagerly  bought  up  by  the 
Confederate  authorities,  who  paid  from  thirty  to 
sixty  dollars  apiece  for  them.  They  were  for  the 
cavalry  service.  Add  to  these  facts,  that  every 
country  blacksmith  made  cutlasses  from  old  files, 
&c. ;  most  of  them  clumsy  but  serviceable  weap 
ons  in  a  close  encounter.  Artillery  and  cav 
alry  sabers  were  manufactured  at  New  Orleans, 
Memphis,  and  Nashville,  and  probably  at  other 
places. 

In  short,  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  1862, 
there  was  rather  a  surfeit  than  any  scarcity  of 
arms  all  over  the  South.  Indeed,  the  energies 
of  the  entire  people  were  employed  in  the  pro 
duction  of  every  description  of  small-arms,  and 
the  enthusiasm  displayed  rivals  the  example  of 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  89 

ancient  Carthage,  in  her  last  fruitless  struggle 
against  the  Romans.  And  this  enthusiasm  per 
vades  all  classes.  I  doubt  not,  if  the  bow  was 
considered  a  weapon  of  war  now,  the  fair  maid 
ens  of  the  South  would  gladly  contribute  their 
flowing  tresses  for  bowstrings,  if  necessary,  as 
did  the  women  of  Carthage.  Their  zeal  and 
self-denial  are  seen  in  the  fact  that  the  ladies 
have  given  vast  amounts  of  jewelry  to  be  sold 
to  build  gunboats,  fortifications,  &c. ;  the  wom 
en  of  Alabama  actually  contributing  $200,000, 
as  estimated,  for  the  construction  of  a  gunboat 
to  protect  the  Alabama  river.  Does  the  reader 
ask,  Why  such  sacrifice  ?  THEY  AKE  IN  EAENEST. 
They  think  they  are  fighting  for  property,  home, 
and  life. 

Yet  after  all  that  has  been  said,  the  largest 
supply  of  small-arms  comes  from  England  and 
France.  I  have  repeatedly  heard  it  said  that 
300,000  stand  of  arms  have  been  received  from 
abroad ; — that  65,000  came  in  one  load  by  the 
Bermuda. 

The  imported  guns  are  principally  Enfield, 
Minie,  and  Belgian  rifles.  The  first  Enfields 


90  THIRTEEN     MONTHS 

received  had  been  used  somewhat,  probably  in 
the  Crimean  and  Indian  wars.  The  crown 
marks  on  the  first  importations,  were  stamped 
out  with  the  initials  of  those  who  had  bought 
them  from  the  government ;  the  later  arrivals, 
exhibit  the  crown  marks  uneffaced.  I  have  seen 
Enh'eld  rifles  of  the  manufacture  of  1861  and 
1862,  with  the  stamp  of  the  "Tower"  on  the 
lock-plate !  Officers,  in  opening  and  examining 
cases  of  these,  would  nod  significantly  to  each 
other,  as  much  as  to  say,  "  See  the  proof  of  Eng 
land^  neutrality!"  The  French  and  Belgian 
rifles,  among  the  best  arms  ever  made,  are 
mostly  of  recent  manufacture,  and  elegantly 
finished.  Yes,  the  South  has  arms  in  abun 
dance,  and  good  ones ;  and  they  know  how  to 
use  them,  and  they  are  resolved  to  do  it. 

The  question  is  often  asked,  Where  does  the 
ammunition  come  from  to  supply  the  Southern 
army?  I  wrould  state  in  reply,  that  with  the 
cargoes  of  arms,  ammunition  was  supplied,  at 
the  rate  of  a  thousand  rounds  for  each  gun. 
While  engaged  in  the  Ordnance  Department,  I 
often  issued  boxes  of  ammunition,  which  were 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  91 

put  up  in  London  for  the  Enfield  rifle.  The 
fixed  ammunition  of  England  is  said  by  South 
ern  officers  to  be  the  finest  in  the  world.  But 
much  was  also  made  at  home.  The  largest 
laboratory  for  making  cartridges,  of  which  I 
had  any  knowledge,  was  in  Memphis,  after 
ward  removed  to  Grenada,  Mississippi.  Pow 
der-mills  were  established  at  various  points,  one 
of  the  largest  at  Dahlonega,  Georgia;  and  old 
saltpeter  caves  were  opened,  the  government 
offering  forty-five  cents  per  pound  for  saltpeter, 
and  exempting  all  persons  employed  in  its  man 
ufacture  from  military  duty.  Percussion  caps 
were  made  in  Richmond  early  in  1861,  and 
great  numbers  were  smuggled  through  the 
lines,  in  the  early  part  of  the  war.  As  to  the 
supply  of  ammunition,  my  opinion  is,  that  the 
South  will  not  lack  while  the  rebellion  lasts. 

On  the  17th  of  December,  I  left  Camp  Beau- 
regard  with  a  car-load  of  ammunition,  attached 
to  a  train  of  twenty-five  box-cars,  containing 
the  27th  Tennessee  regiment,  Colonel  Kit  Wil 
liams  commanding,  for  Bowling  Green,  where 
a  battle  was  expected.  Colonel  Williams'  or- 


92  THIRTEEN     MONTHS 

ders  were,  to  go  through  with  all  possible  dis 
patch.  Here  was  a  new  field  for  observation  to 
me,  and  one  of  great  interest.  As  soon  as  I 
saw  my  special  charge,  the  car  of  ordnance,  all 
right,  I  doffed  my  uniform  for  a  fatigue  dress, 
and  took  my  position  with  the  engineer,  deter 
mined  to  learn  all  I  could  of  the  management 
of  the  locomotive.  The  knowledge  I  acquired 
pretty  nearly  cost  me  my  life,  as  will  soon  be 
seen, — a  new  illustration  that  "  a  little  knowl 
edge  is  a  dangerous  thing." 

We  left  Feliciana  in  the  morning,  and  ran 
down  the  New  Orleans  and  Ohio  railroad  to 
Union  City,  18  miles,  thence  on  the  Mobile  and 
Ohio  road  to  Humboldt,  which  we  reached  by 
five  o'clock  in  the  evening.  It  had  now  grown 
dusk.  During  this  time,  I  had  mastered  the  work 
ing  of  the  engine,  when  all  was  in  good  order ; 
had  noted  the  amount  of  steam  necessary  to  run 
the  train,  the  uses  of  the  various  parts  of  the 
engine,  and  had  actually  had  the  handling  of  the 
locomotive  much  of  the  way.  "When  we  reach 
ed  Humboldt,  where  we  took  the  Memphis  and 
Clarksville  railroad  for  Paris  and  Bowling 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  93 

Green,  the  engineer,  Charles  Little,  refused  to 
run  the  train  on  during  the  night,  as  he  was  not 
well  acquainted  with  the  road,  and  thought  it 
dangerous.  In  addition,  the  head-light  of  the 
locomotive  being  out  of  order,  and  the  oil 
frozen,  he  could  not  make  it  burn,  and  he  could 
not  possibly  run  without  it.  Colonel  Williams 
grew  angry,  probably  suspecting  him  of  Union 
sentiments,  and  of  wishing  to  delay  the  train, 
cursed  him  rather  roundly,  and  at  length  tolc 
him  he  should  run  it  under  a  guard  ;  adding,  to 
the  guard  already  on  the  engine,  "  If  any  acci 
dent  occurs,  shoot  the  cursed  Yankee."  Little 
was  a  Northern  man.  Upon  the  threat  thus 
enforced,  the  engineer  seemed  to  yield,  and  pre 
pared  to  start  the  train.  As  if  having  forgotten 
an  important  matter,  he  said,  hastily,  "  Oh,  I 
must  have  some  oil,"  and  stepping  down  off  the 
locomotive,  walked  toward  the  engine-house. 
When  he  was  about  twenty  yards  from  the  cars, 
the  guard  thought  of  their  duty,  and  one  of 
them  followed  Little,  and  called  upon  him  to 
halt ;  but  in  a  moment  he  was  behind  the  ma 
chine-shop,  and  off  in  the  dense  woods,  in  the 


94:  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

deep  darkness.     The  commotion  soon  brought 
the  colonel  and  a  crowd,  and  while  they  were 
cursing  each  other  all  round,  the  firemen  and 
most  of  the  brakemen  slipped  off,  and  here  we 
were  with  no  means  of  getting  ahead.     All  this 
time  I  had  stood  on  the  engine,  rather  enjoying 
tire  melee,  but  taking  no  part  in  it,  when  Colo 
nel  Williams,  turning  to  me,  said, 
"  Can  not  you  run  the  engine  ?" 
I  replied,  "  No,  sir." 

"You  have  been  on  it  as  we  came  down." 
"  Yes,  sir,  as  a  matter  of  curiosity." 
"  Don't  you  know  how  to  start  and  stop  her  ?" 
"  Yes,  that  is  easy  enough ;  but  if  any  thing 
should  go  wrong  I  could  not  adjust  it." 

"  ISTo  difference,  no  difference,  sir ;  I  must  be 
at  Bowling  Green  to-morrow,  and  you  must  put 
us  through." 

I  looked  him  in  the  eye,  and  said  calmly, 
"  Colonel  Williams,  I  can  not  voluntarily  take 
the  responsibility  of  managing  a  train  writh  a 
thousand  men  aboard,  nor  will  I  be  forced  to 
do  it  under  a  guard  who  know  nothing  about 
an  engine,  and  who  would  be  as  likely  to  shoot 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  95 

me  for  doing  my  duty  as  failing  to  do  it ;  but 
if  you  will  find  among  the  men  a  fireman,  send 
away  this  guard,  and  come  yourself  on  the  loco 
motive,  I  will  do  the  best  I  can." 

And  now  commenced  my  apprenticeship  to 
running  a  Secession  railroad  train.,  with  a  Rebel 
regiment  on  board.  The  engine  behaved  ad 
mirably,  and  I  began  to  feel  quite  safe,  for  she 
obeyed  every  command  I  gave  her,  as  if  she 
acknowledged  me  her  rightful  lord. 

I  could  not  but  be  startled  at  the  position  in 
which  I  was  placed,  holding  in  my  hand  the 
lives  of  more  than  a  thousand  men,  running  a 
train  of  twenty-five  cars  over  a  road  1  had  never 
seen,  running  without  a  head-light,  and  the 
road  so  dark  that  I  could  only  see  a  rod  or  two 
ahead,  and,  to  crown  all,  knowing  almost  noth 
ing  of  the  business.  Of  course  I  ran  slowly, 
about  ten  miles  an  hour,  and  never  took  my 
hand  off  the  throttle  or  my  eye  from  the  road. 
The  colonel  at  length  grew  confident,  and  almost 
confidential,  and  did  most  of  the  talking,  as  I 
had  no  time  for  conversation.  "When  we  had 
run  about  thirty  miles,  and  every  thing  was 


96  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

going  well,  Colonel  Williams  concluded  to  walk 
back,  on  the  top  of  the  box-cars,  to  a  passenger 
car  which  was  attached  to  the  rear  of  the  train 
and  occupied  by  the  officers. 

This  somewhat  hazardous  move  he  com 
menced  just  as  we  struck  a  stretch  of  trestle- 
work  which  carried  the  road  over  a  gorge  some 

fifty  feet  deep.     As  the  locomotive  reached  the 

% 

end  of  the  trestlework  the  grade  rose  a  little, 
and  I  could  see  through,  or  in,  a  deep  cut  which 
the  road  ran  into,  an  obstruction.  "What  it  was, 
or  how  far  ahead,  I  had  almost  no  conception ; 
but  quick  as  thought — and  thought  is  quick  as 
lightning  in  such  circumstances — I  whistled  for 
the  brakes,  shut  off  the  steam,  and  waited  the 
collision.  I  would  have  reversed  the  engine, 
but  a  fear  that  a  reversal  of  its  action  would 
crowd  up  the  cars  on  the  trestlework  and  throw 
them  into  the  gorge  below,  forbade;  nor  was 
there  wisdom  in  jumping  off,  as  the  steep  em 
bankments  on  either  side  would  prevent  escape 
from  the  wreck  of  the  cars  when  the  collision 
came.  All  this  was  elided  in  an  instant  of 
time,  and  I  calmly  awaited  the  shock  which  I 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  97 

saw  was  unavoidable.  Though  the  speed,  which 
was  very  moderate  before,  was  considerably  di 
minished  in  the  fifty  yards  between  the  obstacle 
and  the  head  of  the  train,  I  saw  that  we  would 
certainly  run  into  the  rear  of  another  train, 
which  was  the  obstruction  I  had  seen. 

The  first  car  struck  was  loaded  with  hay  and 
grain.  My  engine  literally  split  it  in  two, 
throwing  the  hay  right  and  left,  and  scattering 
the  grain  like  chaff.  The  next  car,  loaded  with 
horses,  was  in  like  manner  torn  to  pieces,  and 
the  horses  piled  upon  the  sides  of  the  road. 
The  third  car,  loaded  with  tents  and  camp 
equipage,  seemed  to  present  greater  resistance, 
as  the  locomotive  only  reached  it,  and  came  to 
a  stand-still. 

My  emotions  during  these  moments  were 
most  peculiar.  I  watched  the  remorseless  pres 
sure  of  the  engine  with  almost  admiration.  It 
appeared  to  be  deliberate,  and  resolute,  and  in 
satiable.  The  shock  was  not  great,  the  advance 
seemed  very  slow ;  but  it  plowed  on  through 
car  after  car  with  a  steady  and  determined 
course,  which  suggested  at  that  critical  moment 

7 


98  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

a  vast  and  resistless  living  agent.  When  motion 
ceased,  I  knew  my  time  of  trial  was  near ;  for 
if  Colonel  Williams  had  not  been  thrown  from 
the  top  of  the  cars  into  the  gorge  below,  he 
would  soon  be  forward  to  execute  his  threat, — 
to  shoot  me  if  any  accident  occurred.  I  stepped 
out  of  the  cab  on  the  railing  running  along  to 
the  smoke-stack,  so  as  to  be  out  of  view  to  one 
coming  forward  toward  the  engine,  and  yet  to 
have  him  in  the  full  light  of  the  lantern  which 
hung  in  the  cab. 

Exactly  as  I  had  surmised, — for  I  had  seen  a 
specimen  of  his  fierce  temper  and  recklessness, — 
he  came  stamping  and  cursing;  and  jumping 
from  the  car  on  to  the  tender,  he  drew  a  pistol, 
and  cried  out,  "  Where  is  that  cursed  engineer, 
that  did  this  pretty  job?  I'll  shoot  him  the 
minute  I  lay  eyes  on  him." 

I  threw  up  my  six-shooter  so  that  the  light  of 
the  lantern  shone  upon  it,  while  he  could  see  me 
but  indistinctly,  if  at  all,  and  said  with  delibera 
tion,  "  Colonel  Williams,  if  you  raise  your  pistol 
you  are  a  dead  man ;  don't  stir,  but  listen  to 
me.  I  have  done  just  what  any  man  must  have 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  99 

done  under  the  circumstances.  I  stopped  the 
train  as  soon  as  possible,  and  I'll  convince  you 
of  it,  if  you  are  a  reasonable  man;  but  not 
another  word  of  shooting,  or  you  go  down." 

"  Don't  shoot,  don't  shoot,"  he  cried. 

"  Put  uf>  your  pistol  and  so  will  I,"  I  replied. 

He  did  so,  and  came  forward,  and  I  explained 
the  impossibility  of  seeing  the  train  sooner,  as  I 
had  no  head-light,  and  they  had  carelessly  neg 
lected  to  leave  a  light  on  the  rear  of  the  other 
train.  I  advised  the  choleric  colonel  to  go  for 
ward  and  expend  his  wrath  and  curses  on  the 
conductor  of  the  forward  train,  that  had  stopped 
in  such  a  place,  and  sent  out  no  signal-man  in 
the  rear,  nor  even  left  a  red  light.  He  acknowl 
edged  I  was  right.  I  then  informed  him  that  I 
was  an  officer  in  the  ordnance  department,  and 
was  in  charge  of  a  shipment  of  ammunition  for 
Bowling  Green,  and  would  have  him  court- 
martialed  when  we  reached  there,  unless  he 
apologized  for  the  threats  he  had  made.  This 
information  had  a  calming  effect  on  the  col 
onel,  who  at  heart  was  really  a  clever  fel 
low.  He  afterward  came  and  begged  my  par- 


100  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

don ;  we  shook  hands  cordially,  and  were  good 
friends. 

Having  settled  this  talk  of  shooting,  and  put 
the  responsibility  where  it  belonged,  we  had 
time  to  look  at  the  damage  done  by  the  col 
lision.  It  was  nothing  compared  with  w^hat  it 
might  and  would  have  been,  if  we  had  been 
running  at  high  speed.  Even  as  it  was,  it 
stirred  up  the  sleeping  men  not  a  little.  The 
front  train  contained  a  regiment  of  men,  most 
of  whom  were  asleep,  while  the  employees 
were  repairing  an  accident  to  one  of  the  truck- 
wheels  of  a  car.  They  had  it  "jacked  up," 
and  had  all  the  lights  available,  including 
the  one  from  the  rear  of  the  train,  to  aid  in 
their  repairs.  "When  we  struck  them  they  were 
driven  ahead  some  thirty  feet,  and  of  course 
their  disabled  car  was  still  more  damaged.  Our 
men  were  all  suddenly  waked  up,  and  some  of 
them  slightly  bruised.  The  colonel  himself  was 
thrown  down  by  the  shock,  but  fortunately  did 
not  roll  off  the  car,  and  was  but  little  injured ; 
and  there  were  no  lives  lost,  except  of  three  of 
the  horses.  But  we  had  a  toilsome  night  of  it. 


IN    THE    REB-EL    A"RMY.  101 

The  debris  of  the  three  cars  which  had  been 
smashed  up  was  carried  back  through  the  cut, 
between  the  train  and  the  steep  sides,  and 
thrown  down  into  the  gorge,  off  the  trestle- 
work.  The  dead  horses  were  drawn  up  the 
bank  with  ropes,  and  the  front  train  put  in  run 
ning  order,  after  six  hours  of  hard  work  by  as 
many  men  as  could  be  employed  in  such  nar 
row  quarters.  As  the  day  broke,  the  forward 
train  moved  off;  in  a  few  minutes  more  we 
followed,  and  reached  Paris  by  seven  o'clock, 
A.  M.,  December  18,  1861.  Thus  began  and 
ended  my  railroad-engineering  in  Rebeldom. 
At  Paris  they  found  a  professional  runner,  and 
I  resumed  my  uniform,  very  thankful  to  get  out 
of  the  profession  so  creditably.  Reader,  the 
next  time  I  run  a  railroad  train  in  such  cir 
cumstances,  may  you  be  there  to  see  it. 

On  the  19th  of  December  I  reached  Bowling 
Green,  and  found  there  a  larger  army  than  I 
had  before  seen, — 65,000  men  at  least, — under 
General  Albert  Sidney  Johnson  as  commander- 
in-chief,  with  Generals  Buckner,  Hardee,  Hind- 
man,  and  Breckenridge  on  the  ground.  Floyd 


102  'THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

came  within  a  few  days,  bringing  about  7000 
more.  Others  were  soon  added,  for  on  the  25th 
of  December  the  commissary-general  issued 
96,000  rations,  and  by  January  1,  1862, 120,000 
rations  a  day.  The  number  of  rations  shows 
the  whole  number  attached  to  the  army  in 
every  capacity. 

During  the  month  of  December,  sickness  in 
the  form  of  pneumonia  and  measles  became 
fearfully  prevalent,  and  by  the  middle  of  Janu 
ary  one-fifth  of  the  army  was  said  to  be  in  the 
hospital.  The  prevalence  of  disease  was  attrib 
uted  by  the  surgeons  to  the  constant  rains,  the 
warm  winter,  and  incessant  labor  day  and  night 
on  the  fortifications. 

Though  up  to  this  time  I  had  enjoyed  uninter 
rupted  good  health,  the  pneumonia  now  seized 
me  violently  ;  and  after  a  week  of  "  heroic 
treatment,"  I  was  put  into  a  box-car  and  started 
for  the  hospital  at  Nashville.  This  was  the 
dreariest  ride  of  my  life  thus  far.  Alone,  in 
darkness,  suffering  excruciating  pain,  going  per 
haps  to  die  and  be  buried  in  an  unhonored 
grave,  my  "  Christmas"  was  any  thing  but 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  103 

"merry."  And  yet  the  mouth  following  my 
arrival  in  Nashville  was  the  most  pleasant,  on 
many  accounts,  that  I  had  yet  spent  in  Dixie. 
I  was  carefully  and  tenderly  nursed  by  Drs. 
Stout  and  Gambling  and  the  ladies  of  Nash 
ville,  who  showed  the  true  woman's  heart  in 
their  assiduous  care  of  the  poor  suffering  men, 
prostrated  by  disease  and  home-sickness.  Some 
of  the  ladies  were  strong  Secessionists;  but  I 
thought  then,  as  I  believe  now,  that  most  of 
them,  not  all,  would  have  shown  the  same 
kindness  to  any  suffering  soldiers  who  might 
have  come  under  their  notice.  I  knew  my 
mother  would  be  a  Good  Samaritan  to  a  dying 
Rebel ;  why  should  not  they  to  wounded 
Unionists. 

In  two  weeks  I  was  convalescent,  and  yet  I 
daily  exhausted  my  returning  strength  by  gain 
ing  a  knowledge  of  the  Nashville  founderies, 
machine-shops,  bridges,  capitol,  industry,  and 
whatever  I  thought  worth  visiting. 

At  this  juncture  I  also  found  an  old  friend  of 
my  father's,  who  with  his  interesting  family  did 
much  to  make  my  days  of  recovery  pleasant 


104  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

days;  supplying  many  little  things  which  a 
soldier's  wardrobe  and  an  invalid's  appetite 
needed.  How  much  of  a  Rebel  he  was  I  could 
never  exactly  make  out,  but  I  thin,k  his  regard 
for  my  family  held  deep  debate  with  either  love 
or  fear  of  the  ruling  authorities,  to  settle  the 
question  whether  he  should  aid  me  to  reach 
home.  At  xleast,  there  was  not  in  what  he  said 
in  our  frequent  interviews  that  entire  outspo 
kenness  which  would  have  prompted  me  to 
make  a  confidant  of  him;  hence  I  made  no 
headway  toward  escaping  to  the  North.  In 
deed,  I  considered  it  the  only  safe  way,  in  talk 
ing  with  him,  to  show  a  guarded  zeal  for  the 
Southern  cause,  lest,  if  he  were  a  hearty  Rebel, 
he  might  betray  me.  I  am  now  inclined  to  the 
opinion  that  I  was  too  suspicious  of  him,  and 
that  he  was  at  heart  a  Union  man.  At  all 
events,  I  shall  ever  be  grateful  for  his  kindness 
to  me. 

I  may  as  well  record  at  this  point  what  I 
know  of  the  moral  and  religious  efforts  put 
forth  in  the  South  in  behalf  of  the  soldiers,  and 
the  effect  of  the  Rebellion  on  the  education  a] 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  105 

and  religious  interests  of  the  people  generally. 
As  a  general  truth,  when  the  recruits  first  came 
to  the  army,  those  with  religious  inclinations 
or  who  had  pious  friends,  brought  along  a 
Bible  or  Testament,  but  these  were  in  most 
cases  soon  lost  or  left  behind,  and  the  camps 
were  almost  destitute  of  any  good  books.  Re 
ligious  publications  were  not  distributed  to  the 
soldiers  except  in  the  hospitals,  and  to  a  very 
limited  extent  there.  The  regiments  composed 
of  Irish  or  French  Catholics,  usually  had  a  priest 
as  chaplain ;  but  I  saw  very  few  of  the  Prot 
estant  chaplains  who  gave  themselves  up  to  the 
spiritual  care  of  their  men.  We  had  a  good 
many  ministers  in  the  army  of  the  Mississippi 
valley,  but  they  almost  all  held  a  commission 
of  a  military,  rather  than  a  religious  kind,  and 
so  far  as  I  could  judge,  were  fonder  of  warlike 
than  of  heavenly  ministrations.  In  the  hospital 
at  Nashville,  on  the  other  hand,  good  men  and 
women  endeavored  faithfully  to  present  the 
truths  of  the  Bible  and  the  consolations  ot 
religion  to  the  attention  of  the  inmates.  But, 
as  I  have  hinted,  the  army  was  not  much 


106  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

benefited  by  the  clerical  members  attached  to 
it,  though  their  loss  may  have  been  felt  by  the 
churches  they  had  forsaken.  There  were  but 
few  of  what  are  called  Gospel  sermons,  preached 
in  the  army  anywhere  within  my  reach  during 
my  soldier  life.  As  a  consequence  of  the 
inherently  demoralizing  effect  of  war,  and  this 
great  destitution  of  conserving  influences,  vice 
reigned  almost  unrestrained  in  the  army.  The 
few  good  and  devout  men,  and  the  infrequent 
prayer-meetings  which  were  held,  seemed  pow 
erless  to  restrain  the  downward  tendency  of 
morals.  Profanity,  the  most  revolting  and 
dreadful,  abounded,  though  contrary  to  the 
Articles  of  War,  and  many  of  the  officers  were 
proficient  in  this  vice.  Gambling,  in  all  the 
forms  possible  among  soldiers,  was  the  main 
amusement  on  the  Sabbath-day.  These  were 
the  prominent  vices,  and,  if  possible,  they  were 
growing  more  and  more  monstrous  continually. 
As  for  the  effect  of  the  war  upon  the  country 
generally,  I  can  not  give  many  facts,  though  I 
had  some  opportunity  of  observation,  as  will  be 
seen.  Preaching  was  maintained  in  most  of 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  107 

the  churches  in  the  large  cities;  but  in  many 
of  the  smaller  places,  and  in  country  churches, 
service  was  suspended.  This  was  true  so  far  as 
my  observation  reached,  and  it  must  have  been 
so  in  other  places,  from  the  fact  that  so  great  a 
proportion  of  the  men  were  engaged  in  the  war. 
And  even  where  preaching  was  kept  up,  every 
sermon  I  heard  was  embellished  and  concluded 
by  a  grand  flourish,  about  the  duty  of  praying 
and  fighting  for  their  homes  and  institutions. 
This  universally  belligerent  spirit  was  evidently 
unfavorable  to  the  progress  of  true  and  consist 
ent  piety.  Schools  and  seminaries  of  learning 
were  chiefly  closed,  and  they  were  not  very 
abundant  before.  In  fine,  I  think  if  this  Rebel 
lion  continues  a  year  or  two  longer,  the  South 
will  be  a  moral  wilderness. 


108  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

CHAPTER   IV. 

CAVALRY    SERVICE. 

New  Field  of  Action. — Promotion. — Guerrilla  Warfare. — Charac 
teristics. — Tendencies. — Captain  J.  H.  Morgan. — Character. — 
Personal  Appearance. — Anecdotes. — Success. — Southern  Cav 
alry  superior  to  Northern. — Advantages. — Eiding  Courier. — 
General  Johnson  evacuates  Bowling  Green. — Excitement  in 
Nashville. — Preparations  for  Defence. — Commissary  Stores. — 
Vandalism. — Eear  Guard. — Line  of  Eetreat. — Dreadful  Hard 
ships. — Losses. — Forced  March. — Desolation. — Cause  of  Ee 
treat. — Other  Counsel. — Accident. — No  Union  Feeling  evident. 
— Intolerant  yet  Sincere. 

WHILE  at  Nashville,  recovering  from  the 
typhoid  pneumonia,  I  resolved  to  seek  a  trans 
fer  to  the  cavalry  service,  as  aifording  me  a 
new  field  of  observation,  and  perhaps  a  more 

stirring  and  exciting  life.     As  Captain  F s 

was  recruiting  a  company  in  and  around  Nash 
ville,  I  rode  with  him  from  day  to  day  over  the 
country,  and  thus  secured  his  advocacy  of  my 
wishes.  On  the  4th  of  February,  1862,  I  was 
transferred  to  his  company,  and  entered  it  as 
orderly  sergeant,  and  a  vacancy  soon  occurring, 
I  was  promoted  to  a  lieutenancy,  Our  com- 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  109 

pany  was  to  have  been  attached  to  a  battalion 
commanded  by  Major  Howard  of  Maryland, 
formerly  of  the  United  States  army,  and  as  my 
captain  was  in  service  on  General  Hardee's 
staff,  I  acted  as  captain  during  the  whole  of  my 
term  in  this  branch  of  the  service.  Shortly 
after,  my  company  was  attached  to  the  com 
mand  of  that  celebrated  guerrilla  leader,  Cap 
tain  J.  H.  Morgan,  at  that  time,  however, 
acting  under  the  rules  of  regular  warfare,  and 
not,  as  now,  in  the  capacity  of  a  highway 
robber. 

The  system  of  guerrilla  warfare  has  been 
indorsed  by  an  act  of  the  Confederate  Congress, 
and  is  fully  inaugurated  over  a  large  part  of 
the  South.  As  there  practiced  now,  it  is  dis 
tinguished  from  regular  warfare  by  two  things : 
First,  the  troops  are  not  under  any  brigade 
commander,  but  operate  in  small  bands,  much 
at  their  pleasure,  with  a  general  responsibility 
to  the  major-general  commanding  in  their  de 
partment. 

One  result  of  this  feature  of  the  system  is  to 
develop  a  large  amount  of  talent  in  the  ranks. 


110  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

as  every  man  has  an  individual  responsibility, 
and  constant  opportunities  to  test  his  shrewd 
ness  and  daring.  It  also  gives  a  perfect  knowl 
edge  of  all  roads  and  localities  to  the  whole 
force  in  a  given  section,  as  some  one  or  more 
soldiers  will  be  found  in  each  gang,  who,  in 
their  frequent  maraudings,  have  traversed  every 
by-path  and  marked  every  important  point. 

The  second  prominent  characteristic  of  guer 
rilla  warfare,  is  the  license  it  gives  to  take  by 
force  from  supposed  enemies  or  neutrals,  horses, 
cash,  munitions  of  war,  and,  in  short,  any  thing 
which  can  aid  the  party  for  which  he  fights; 
with  the  promise  of  full  pay  for  whatever  he 
brings  off  to  his  head-quarters.  This  is  the  es 
sential  principle  of  the  system,  giving  it  its 
power  and  destructiveness.  As  it  displaces 
patriotism  from  the  breast  of  the  fighter,  and 
substitutes  in  its  room  the  desire  for  plunder, 
the  men  thus  engaged  become  highway  robbers 
in  organized  and  authorized  bands.  Nor  do 
guerrilla  bands  long  confine  their  depredations 
to  known  enemies.  Wherever  a  good  horse 
can  be  found,  wherever  silver  plate  is  supposed 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  Ill 

to  be  secreted,  wherever  money  might  be  ex 
pected,  there  they  concentrate  and  rob  without 
inquiry  as  to  the  character  of  the  owner.  Hence 
the  system  is  destructive  to  all  confidence,  and 
to  the  safety  of  even  innocent  and  defenseless 
females. 

It  requires  no  prophet's  ken  to  foresee  that 
the  Confederate  authorities  have  commenced  a 
system  which  will  utterly  demoralize  all  en 
gaged  in  it;  destroy  the  peace,  and  endanger 
the  safety  of  non-combatants,  and  eventually 
reduce  to  ruin  and  anarchy  the  whole  commu 
nity  over  which  these  bands  of  robbers  have 
their  range. 

This  process  has  already  commenced,  and  if 
the  loyal  troops  were  withdrawn  to-day  from 
all  Secessia,  and  the  South  allowed  its  inde 
pendence,  the  people  would  find  themselves  in 
the  hands  of  bandits  to  harass  and  plunder  for 
months  to  come,  and  would  have  long  scores  of 
wrongs  to  right,  which  have  been  inflicted  upon 
neutrals  and  friends  of  the  Rebellion  by  its 
professed  soldiers.  Should  the  contest  continue 
for  two  or  three  years  longer,  the  South  bids 


112  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

fair  to  lapse  into  the  semi-barbarism  of  Mexico, 
or  the  robber-ruled  anarchy  of  Spain  after  the 
Peninsular  war.  The  legitimate  tendency  of 
the  system  is  understood  by  the  Southern  gen 
erals,  and  some  of  them  resisted  its  introduction  ; 
but  the  desperation  of  the  whole  Southern  mind 
swept  away  opposition,  and  they  are  now  em 
barked  on  a  stormy  sea,  which  will  assuredly 
wreck  the  craft,  if  it  be  not  sooner  sunk  by  loyal 

broadsides. 

i 

Ifow  the  government  should  treat  these  free 
booters  when  captured,  as  some  of  them  have 
been,  is  plain,  if  the  usual  laws  of  war  are  to  be 
followed ;  they  are  to  be  punished  as  outlaws, 
and  hung  or  shot.  But,  in  this  case,  can  it  be 
done  safely  ?  There  were,  when  I  left  Secessia, 
not  less  than  10,000  men  organized  as  guerrillas. 
There  may  be  far  more  at  this  writing.  Is  it 
possible  to  treat  such  a  number  as  banditti, 
without  inaugurating  a  more  bloody  retaliation 
and  massacre  than  the  world  has  ever  seen  ?  I 
only  raise  the  question. 

Morgan,  as  a  citizen  in  times  of  peace,  main 
tained  the  reputation  of  a  generous,  genial,  jolly, 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  113 

horse-loving,  and  horse-racing  Kentuckian.  He 
went  into  the  Kebellion  con  amore,  and  pursues 
it  with  high  enjoyment.  He  is  about  thirty-five 
years  of  age,  six  feet  in  liight,  well  made  for 
strength  and  agility,  and  is  perfectly  master  of 
himself;  has  a  light  complexion,  sandy  hair, 
and  generally  wears  a  mustache,  and  a  little 
beard  on  his  chin.  His  eyes  are  keen,  bluish 
gray  in  color,  and  when  at  rest,  have  a  sleepy 
look,  but  he  sees  every  one  and  every  thing 
around  him,  although  apparently  unobservant. 
He  is  an  admirable  horseman,  and  a  good  shot. 
As  a  leader  of  a  battalion  of  cavalry,  he  has  no 
superior  in  the  Rebel  ranks.  His  command  of 
his  men  is  supreme.  While  they  admire  his 
generosity  and  manliness,  sharing  with  them  all 
the  hardships  of  the  field,  they  fear  his  more 
than  Napoleonic  severity  for  any  departure 
from  enjoined  duty.  His  men  narrate  of  him 
this — that  upon  one  occasion,  when  engaging 
in  a  battle,  he  directed  one  of  his  troopers  to 
perform  a  hazardous  mission  in  the  face  of  the 
enemy.  The  man  did  not  move.  Morgan  asked, 
in  short  quick  words, 


114:  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

"  Do  you  understand  my  orders  ?" 
"  Yes,  captain,  but  I  can  not  obey." 
"  Then,   good-by,"   said   Morgan,    and   in   a 
moment  the  cavalryman  fell  dead  from  his  sad 
dle.     Turning  to  his  men,  he  added,  "  Such  be 
the  fate  of  every  man  disobeying  orders  in  the 
face  of  an  enemy.' 

]STo  man  ever  hesitated  after  that  to  obey  any 
command. 

But  Morgan  is  not  without  generosity  to  a 
foe.  A  Federal  cavalryman  related  to  me, 
since  my  escape,  an  unusual  act  for  an  enemy. 
Losing  the  command  of  his  wounded  horse, 
which  goaded  by  pain  plunged  wildly  on,  he 
was  borne  into  the  midst  of  Morgan's  force. 
"  Don't  shoot  him  !"  cried  Morgan  to  a  dozen  of 
his  men  who  raised  their  pistols.  "  Give  him  a 
chance  for  his  life."  The  pistols  were  lowered 
and  the  man  sent  back  to  his  own  lines  un 
harmed.  Few  men  have  appeared  on  either 
side  in  this  contest  who  combine  dash  and  cau 
tion,  intrepidity  and  calmness,  boldness  of  plan 
with  self-possession  in  execution,  as  does  Mor 
gan.  The  feat  reported  of  him  in  Nashville, 


IN    THE    REBEL    AKMY.  115 

shortly  after  the  Rebel  army  retreated  through 
it,  illustrates  this.  Coming  into  the  city  full  of 
Federal  soldiers  in  the  garb  of  a  farmer  with  a 
load  of  meal,  he  generously  gives  it  to  the  com 
missary  department,  saying,  in  an  undertone, 
that  there  are  some  Union  men  out  where  he 
lives,  but  they  have  to  be  careful  to  dodge  the 
Rebel  cavalry,  and  he  wishes  to  show  his  love 
for  the  cause  by  this  little  donation.  Going  to 
the  St.  Cloud  to  dine,  he  sits  at  the  same  table 
with  General  McCook,  since  cruelly  murdered, 
and  is  pointed  out  to  the  Federal  officer  as  the 
Union  man  who  had  made  the  generous  gift. 
He  is  persuaded  to  take  the  value  of  it  in  gold, 
and  then,  in  a  private  interview,  tells  the  Fed 
eral  officer  that  a  band  of  Morgan's  cavalry  is 
camping  near  him,  and  if  one  or  two  hundred 
cavalry  will  come  down  there  to-morrow  he  will 
show  them  how  to  take  Morgan.  The  cavalry 
go,  and  are  taken  by  Morgan.  So  the  story 
goes.  An  equally  successful  feat  it  was,  to  step 
into  the  telegraph  office  in  Gallatin,  Tennessee, 
at  a  later  date,  as  he  did,  dressed  as  a  Federal 
officer,  and  there  learn  from  the  operator  the 


116  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

time  when  the  down-train  would  be  in,  and 
arrest  it,  securing  many  thousands  of  dollars 
without  loss  of  men  or  time.  '  Another  anecdote 
of  his  cool  daring  and  recklessness  is  this.  Bid 
ing  up  to  a  picket  post  near  Nashville,  dressed 
in  full  Federal  uniform,  he  sharply  reproved 
the  sentinel  on  duty  for  not  calling  out  the. 
guard  to  salute  the  officer  of  the  day,  as  he  an 
nounced  himself  to  be.  The  sentinel  stammered 
out,  as  an  excuse,  that  he  did  not  know  him  to 
be  the  officer  of  the  day.  Morgan  ordered  him 
to  give  up  his  arms,  because  of  this  breach  of 
duty,  and  the  man  obeyed.  He  then  called 
out  the  remaining  six  men  of  the  guard,  in 
cluding  the  lieutenant  who  was  in  charge,  and 
put  them  under  arrest,  ordering  them  to  pile 
their  arms,  which  they  did.  He  then  marched 
them  down  the  road  a  short  distance  where 
his  own  men  were  concealed,  and  secured  all 
of  them,  and  their  arms  and  horses,  without 
resistance. 

In  an  engagement  Morgan  is  perfectly  cool, 
and  yet  his  face  and  action  are  as  if  surcharged 
with  electricity.  He  has  the  quickness  of  a 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  117 

.% 

tiger,  and  the  strength  of  two  ordinary  men. 
One  cause  of  his  success  is  found  in  the  charac 
ter  of  his  chargers.  He  has  only  the  fleetest 
and  most  enduring  horses ;  and  when  one  fails 
he  soon  finds  another  by  hook  or  by  crook. 
His  business  in  his  recent  raid  into  Kentucky 
(July  28th),  seemed  to  have  been  mainly  to 
gather  up  the  best  blooded  horses,  in  which 
that  State  abounds. 

Unless  in  some  fortunate  hour  for  the  loyal 
cause  he  should  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Fed 
eral  forces,  Colonel  John  H.  Morgan  will  be 
come  one  of  the  most  potent  and  dangerous 
men  in  the  Rebel  service. 

So  far  as  my  observation  extended,  the  South 
ern  cavalry  are  superior  to  the  loyal,  for  the 
kind  of  service  expected  of  them.  They  are  not 
relied  upon  for  heavy  charges  against  large 
bodies  of  infantry  closely  massed,  as  in  some  of 
the  wars  of  the  Old  World  during  the  close  of 
the  last  century  and  the  first  part  of  this ;  but 
for  scouting,  foraging,  and  sudden  dashes  against 
outposts  and  unguarded  companies  of  their  ene 
mies.  In  this  service,  fleetness,  perfect  docility, 


118  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

and  endurance  for  a  few  hours  or  a  day,  are  requi 
site  in  the  make-up  of  the  horses  used.  And  in 
these  traits  Morgan's  blooded  horses  are  admi 
rable.  And  then,  with  the  exception  of  some 
of  the  Western  troopers,  the  Southerners  are 
more  perfect  horsemen  than  our  loyal  cavalry. 
They  have  been  on  horseback,  many  of  them, 
from  youth,  and  are  trained  to  the  perfect  con 
trol  of  themselves  and  their  steeds  in  difficult 
circumstances.  In  addition  to  these  causes  of 
superiority,  they  have  a  vast  advantage  over 
the  Federal  troops  in  the  present  contest  from 
two  causes :  It  is  hard  to  overestimate  the  ad 
vantage  they  find  in  a  knowledge  of  the  ground, 
the  roads,  the  ravines,  the  hiding-places,  the 
marshes,  the  fords,  the  forests,  &c.  But  even 
more  important  than  this  is  the  sympathy  they 
have  from  the  inhabitants,  almost  universally, 
who  give  them  information  by  every  method,  of 
the  approach,  strength,  and  plans  of  their  ene 
mies.  Even  the  negroes  will  be  found  often, 
either  from  fear  or  other  motives,  to  give  all  the 
information  they  can  obtain  to  the  Southerners. 
And  the  Southerners  know  far  better  than  we 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  119 

do  how  to  obtain,  and  sift,  and  estimate,  the 
value  of  what  the  slaves  tell  them. 

From  these  causes,  we  should  look  for  and 
expect  no  little  trouble  from  the  mounted  men, 
who  will  continue  to  constitute  a  pretty  large 
element  in  the  Rebel  forces. 

After  commencing  my  service  in  the  cavalry, 
we  spent  some  three  weeks  in  scouting  and  for 
aging,  having  Nashville  for  our  center.  During 
this  time  I  rode  as  courier  several  times,  on  one 
occasion  riding  sixty  miles,  from  Nashville  to 
Shelbyville,  in  seven  hours.  Upon  another  oc 
casion,  my  blooded  horse  made  fourteen  miles 
in  a  little  less  than  fifty  minutes ;  but  this  was 
harder  service  than  we  generally  exacted  from 
our  horses.  Upon  reporting  myself  to  General 
Breckenridge,  for  whom  this  arduous  service 
had  been  performed,  he  merely  said  "  Trea 
lien" — from  which  I  saw  that  he  expected 
prompt  work  from  those  who  served  him. 

On  Saturday  the  15th  of  February,  the  re 
port  came  that  General  Johnson  would  evac 
uate  Bowling  Green,  and  Sunday  morning  we 
learned,  to  the  amazement  of  citizens  and  sol- 


120  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

diers,  that  Fort  Donelson  was  taken.  Never 
was  there  greater  commotion  than  Nashville 
exhibited  that  Sabbath  morning.  Churches 
were  closed,  Sabbath  schools  failed  to  assemble, 
citizens  gathered  in  groups,  consulted  hastily, 
and  then  rushed  to  their  homes  to  cany  out 
their  plans.  Bank  directors  were  speedily  in 
council,  and  Confederate  officials  were  every 
where  engrossed  in  the  plan  of  evacuation.  A 
general  stampede  commenced.  Specie  was  sent 
off  to  Columbia  and  Chattanooga,  plate  was  re 
moved,  and  valuables  huddled  promiscuously 
into  all  kinds  of  vehicles.  Hack-hire  rose  to 
twenty-five  dollars  an  hour,  and  personal  ser 
vice  to  fabulous  prices.  Government  property 
was  removed  as  fast  as  transportation  could  be 
furnished.  Vast  amounts  of  provisions  and  am 
munition  had  been  accumulated  at  Nashville, 
for  the  armies  at  Donelson  and  Bowling 
Green ;  and  so  confident  were  they  of  holding 
those  points,  that  no  provision  had  been  made 
for  retreat. 

On  Sunday  the  advance  of  the  Bowling  Green 
army  began  to  come  in,  and  those  who  escaped 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  121 

from  Donelson  on  Tuesday.  The  appearance 
of  these  retreating  forces  increased  the  panic 
among  the  people,  and  as  the  troops  came  in 
the  non-combatants  went  out.  By  the  20th,  all 
who  could  get  away  were  gone,  and  none  but 
the  military  were  prominent  in  the  streets,  and 
the  sick  and  wounded  were  sent  southward. 
The  main  body  of  the  army  camped  on  the 
Nashville  side  of  the  river.  Work  was  sus 
pended  on  two  fine  gunboats  in  process  of  con 
struction,  and  orders  given  to  be  ready  for  their 
destruction  at  a  moment's  notice.  The  railroad 
bridge  was  also  prepared  for  the  same  fate. 

In  the  mean  time  the  citizens,  believing  that 
General  Johnson  would  make  a  stand,  com 
menced  a  fortification,  four  miles  from  the  city, 
on  the  south  side  of  the  Cumberland,  for  the 
purpose  of  resisting  the  advance  of  the  gun 
boats.  When  it  was  announced  that  no  defence 
would  be  made,  the  people  were  highly  indig 
nant,  because  the  suddenness  of  this  decision 
left  the  citizens  no  time  for  the  removal  of  their 
remaining  goods.  As  the  Confederate  authori 
ties  could  not  remove  all  their  commissary 


122  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

stores,  the  warehouses  were  thrown  open,  and 
the  poor  can^e  and  carried  off  thousands  of  dol 
lars'  worth.  Some  of  these  people  subsequently 
set  up  boarding-houses  and  fed  Union  soldiers 
from  the  provisions  thus  obtained. 

At  length  the  railroad  bridge  and  the  gun 
boats  were  burned,  and  the  suspension  bridge 
cut  down.  An  act  of  pure  vandalism  was  this 
last,  as  it  neither  aided  the  Rebel  retreat  nor 
delayed  the  Federal  advance.  Curses  against 
General  Floyd  and  Governor  Harris  were  loud 
and  deep  for  this  act,  and  General  A.  S.  John 
son  never  recovered  the  reputation  lost  during 
this  retreat. 

My  company  was  constantly  on  scout  duty, 
guarding  the  roads  on  the  north  side  of  the 
river,  protecting  the  rear  of  the  retreating  hosts, 
and  watching  for  the  coming  of  Buell's  advance. 
This  whole  retreat,  from  Bowling  Green  to  Cor 
inth,  a  distance  of  nearly  three  hundred  miles 
as  traveled  by  the  army,  and  occupying  six 
weeks,  was  one  of  the  most  trying  that  an  army 
was  ever  called  upon  to  perform  in  its  own 
country  and  among  friends.  The  army  was  not 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  123 

far  from  60,000  strong,  after  General  George  B. 
Crittenden's  forces  were  added  to  it  at  Murfrees- 
boro.  The  season  of  the  year  was  the  worst 
possible  in  that  latitude.  Rain  fell,  sometimes 
sleet,  four  days  out  of  seven.  The  roads  were 
bad  enough  at  best,  but  under  such  a  tramping 
of  horses  and  cutting  of  wheels  as  the  march 
produced,  soon  became  horrible.  About  a  hun 
dred  regiments  were  numbered  in  the  army. 
The  full  complement  of  wagons  to  each  regi 
ment — twenty-four — would  give  above  two 
thousand  wagons.  Imagine  such  a  train  of 
heavily  loaded  wagons,  passing  along  a  single 
mudjroad,  accompanied  by  55,000  infantry  and 
5000  horsemen,  in  the  midst  of  rain  and  sleet, 
day  after  day,  camping  at  night  in  wet  fields  or 
dripping  woods,  without  sufficient  food  adapted 
to  their  wants,  and  often  without  any  tents,  the 
men  lying  down  in  their  wet  clothes,  and  rising 
chilled  through  and  through ;  and  let  this  con 
tinue  for  six  weeks  of  incessant  retreat,  and  you 
get  a  feeble  glimpse  of  what  we  endured.  The 
army  suffered  great  loss  from  sickness  and  some 
from  desertion ;  some  regiments  leaving  Bowl- 


124  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

ing  Green  with  six  or  seven  hundred  men,  and 
reaching  Corinth  with  but  half  of  this  number. 
The  towns  through  which  we  passed  were  left 
full  of  sick  men,  and  many  were  sent  off  to  hos 
pitals  at  some  distance  from  our  route. 

One  of  the  most  desperate  marches  men  were 
ever  called  to  encounter,  was  performed  by 
General  Breckenridge's  division  between  Fay- 
etteville  and  Huntsville.  They  moved  at  ten 
A.  M.,  and  marched  till  one  o'clock  next  morn 
ing,  making  thirty  miles  over  a  terrible  road, 
amid  driving  rain  and  sleet  during  the  whole 
time.  The  reason  for  this  desperate  work  was, 
that  a  day's  march  lay  between  the  rear-guard 
and  the  main  body  of  General  Johnson's  army, 
and  there  was  danger  that  it  would  be  cut  off. 
It  cost  the  general  hundreds  of  men.  One- 
fourth  of  the  division  dropped  out  of  the  ranks 
unable  to  proceed,  and  were  taken  up  by  the 
guard,  until  every  wagon  and  ambulance  was 
loaded,  and  then  scores  were  deserted  on  the 
road,  who  straggled  in  on  following  days,  or 
made  their  way  back  to  their  homes  in  Tennes 
see  or  Kentucky. 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  125 

This  retreat  left  a  good  deal  of  desolation  in 
its  track ;  for  although  the  officers  endeavored 
to  restrain  their  men,  yet  they  must  have  wood  ; 
and  where  the  forest  was  sometimes  a  mile  from 
the  camping  ground,  and  fences  were  near,  the 
fences  suffered ;  and  where  sheep  and  hogs 
abounded  when  we  came,  bones  and  bristles 
were  more  abundant  after  we  left.  Horses  were 
needed  in  the  army ;  and  after  it  left,  none  were 
seen  on  the  farms.  And  then  the  impressed 
soldiers,  judging  from  my  own  feelings,  were 
not  over-scrupulous  in  guarding  the  property 
of  Rebels.  The  proud  old  planters,  who  had 
aided  in  bringing  on  the  rebellion,  were  unwill 
ingly  compelled  to  bear  part  of  its  burdens. 

This  long  and  disastrous  retreat  was  rendered 
a  necessity  as  soon  as  Fort  Henry,  on  the  Ten 
nessee  river,  wras  taken  by  the  Federal  forces, 
as  this  river  was  opened,  and  they  oxild  throw 
an  army  in  the  rear  of  the  Confedeiates  as  far 
south  as  Florence,  in  Alabama,  within  a  few 
days.  Indeed  the  Confederate  officers  expected 
this,  and  wrondered  that  the  Federals  failed  to 
do  it  immediately,  as  this  movement  would 


126  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

nave  cut  off  Johnson's  retreat,  and  have  forced 
him  to  surrender,  fight,  or  escape  eastward 
through  Knoxville,  giving  up  the  whole  West 
to  the  loyal  forces.  The  delay  of  the  United 
States  forces  to  take  Fort  Donelson  allowed 
General  A.  Sidney  Johnson  to  reach  Corinth  by 
March.  Here  General  Beauregard,  in  command 
of  the  army  of  the  Mississippi  valley,  and  already 
there  in  person,  determined  to  make  a  stand. 

Great  difference  of  opinion  existed  among 
Southern  officers  as  to  the  expediency  of  this 
retreat.  Many,  among  whom  were  Generals 
Breckenridge,  Hindman,  and  Bowen,  counseled 
to  assume  the  offensive,  and  make  a  bold  dash 
upon  Louisville,  Ky.  This  became  the  general 
opinion  subsequently  ;  and  had  it  been  adopted 
as  the  policy  in  the  beginning,  would  have 
given  a  different  phase  to  the  war  in  the  West, 
at  least  for  a  time. 

A  ludicrous  scene  occurred  at  this  time,  illus 
trating  the  liability  to  panic  to  which  even 
brave  men  are  sometimes  subject.  While  rest 
ing  at  Murfreesboro,  of  course  we  were  liable  to 
be  overtaken  by  Buell's  cavalry,  and  as  Colonel 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  127 

Morgan  was  not  a  man  to  be  caught  asleep,  he 
kept  scouting  parties  ever  on  the  alert,  scouring 
the  country  on  different  roads  for  miles  in  the 
direction  of  the  Federal  army.  I  was  in  com 
mand  of  a  squad  of  eight  men,  with  whom  I 
made  a  long  and  rapid  march  in  the  direction 
of  Lebanon,  and  when  returning  by  a  different 
route,  night  overtook  us  some  fifteen  miles  from 
camp.  After  getting  supper  at  a  farm-house, 
we  were  again  in  the  saddle  at  ten  o'clock  of  a 
calm,  quiet  evening,  with  a  dim  moon  to  light* 
us  back  to  camp.  We  jogged  on  unsuspicious 
of  danger,  as  we  were  now  on  the  return  from 
the  direction  of  the  Federal  cavalry.  Within 
ten  miles  of  camp,  near  midnight,  we  passed 
through  a  lane  and  were  just  entering  a  forest, 
when  we  became  aware  that  a  cavalry  force  was 
approaching  on  the  same  road ;  but  who  they 
were,  or  how  many,  we  had  no  idea.  We  were 
not  expecting  another  party  of  our  men  in  this 
direction,  and  yet  they  could  hardly  be  Federals, 
or  we  would  have  heard  of  them,  as  we  had  been 
near  their  lines,  and  among  the  friends  of  the 
Southern  cause. 


128  THIKTEEN    MONTHS 

Acting  on  the  principle  that  it  is  safer  to  ask 
than  to  answer  questions  in  such  circumstances, 
I  instantly  ordered  them  to  "  Halt,"  and  asked, 
"  Who  comes  there  ?"  Their  commander  was 
equally  non-committal,  and  demanded,  "Who 
comes  there  ?" 

"If  you  are  friends,  advance  and  give  the 
countersign,"  said  I ;  but  scarcely  was  the  word 
uttered  when  the  buckshot  from  the  shot-guns 
of  the  head  of  the  column  came  whistling  past 
us  in  dangerous  but  not  fatal  proximity.  Thus 
challenged,  I  instantly  ordered,  "  Draw  saber — 
Charge!"  and  with  a  wild  yell  we  dashed  at 
them,  determined  to  keep  our  course  toward  our 
camp,  whoever  they  might  be.  To  our  surprise, 
they  broke  and  ran  in  disorder,  and  we  after 
them,  yelling  with  all  the  voice  we  could  com 
mand.  I  soon  saw,  from  their  mode  of  rid 
ing  and  glimpses  of  their  dress,  that  they  were 
Confederates ;  but  as  we  had  routed  them, 
though  seven  times  our  number, — there  were 
sixty-five  of  them, — we  determined  to  give  them 
a  race.  Keeping  my  men  together,  yelling  in 
unison,  and  firing  in  the  air  occasionally,  we 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  129 

pressed  them  closely  six  or  seven  miles.  When 
within  three  miles  of  camp,  I  drew  my  men  up 
and  told  them  we  must  get  in  by  another  route, 
and,  if  possible,  as  soon  as  they.  A  rapid  ride 
by  a  longer  road  brought  us  to  the  lines  in  a 
few  minutes,  and  we  found  the  whole  force  of 
over  a  thousand  cavalrymen  mounting  to  repel 
an  attack  from  a  formidable  force  of  Federal 
cavalry,  which  had  driven  in  the  scouting  party 
of  sixty-five  men,  after  a  desperate  encounter. 
I  immediately  reported  the  whole  affair  to  Mor 
gan,  when,  with  a  spice  of  humor  which  never 
forsakes  him,  he  told  me  to  keep  quiet;  and, 
calling  up  the  lieutenant  who  was  in  charge  of 
the  scouting  party,  ordered  him  to  narrate  the 
whole  affair.  The  lieutenant  could  not  say  how 
many  Federal  cavalry  there  were,  but  there 
must  have  been  from  three  to  five  hundred, 
from  the  rattling  of  sabers  and  the  volume  of 
sound  embodied  in  their  unearthly  yells.  At 
all  events,  their  charge  was  terrific,  and  his 
wonder  was  that  any  of  his  men  escaped.  How 
many  of  the  Federals  had  fallen  it  was  impossi 
ble  to  estimate,  but  some  were  seen  to  fall,  &c. 


130  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

When  Morgan  had  learned  the  whole  story, 
with  the  embellishments,  he  dismissed  the  lieu 
tenant.  But  the  story  was  too  good  to  keep, 
and  by  morning  the  scare  and  its  cause  were 
fully  ventilated,  greatly  to  the  chagrin  of  Major 
Bennett's  battalion,  to  which  the  routed  men 
belonged.  They  were  questioned  daily  about 
"  those  three  hundred  Yankees  who  made  that 
terrific  charge ;"  and  whenever  a  loud  noise  of 
any  kind  was  made,  even  by  a  mule,  it  was 
asked,  with  a  serious  face,  if  that  was  equal  to 
"  the  unearthly  yells  of  the  Yankees."  Indeed, 
for  weeks,  "  the  three  hundred  Yankees"  was  a 
by-word  of  ridicule,  in  reply  to  any  boast  from 
one  of  Bennett's  men. 

Before  we  reached  Shelbyville  I  met  with 
my  first  wound, — though  not  from  the  guns  of 
the  Federals.  I  had  chosen  a  vicious  but  noble- 
looking  stallion  for  my  Bucephalus,  and  in 
Rareyfying  him  into  submission  to  Rebel  rule, 
he  got  the  better  of  me,  so  far  as  to  land  me 
about  a  rod  over  his  head,  and  taking  advan 
tage  of  my  being  for  the  moment  hors  du 
combat,  ran  over  me,  struck  me  with  one  of  his 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  131 

hind  feet,  and  broke  my  kneepan.  But  so 
excited  was  I  with  the  contest,  and  smarting 
under  my  defeat,  that  unconscious  of  the  se 
riousness  of  my  wound,  I  remounted,  and  rode 
four  miles  to  camp  at  a  speed  which  cooled  his 
ire  and  taught  him  some  manners.  He  ever 
behaved  respectably  after  that,  though  I  always 
doubted  whether  he  was  at  heart  a  true  and 
willing  fighter  in  the  Secession  ranks,  any  more 
than  his  master.  At  the  end  of  this  race  my 
knee  had  swollen  to  twice  its  usual  size,  and 
was  exceedingly  painful..  "With,  difficulty  I 
dismounted,  and  for  days  was  an  invalid,  for 
months  lame,  and  even  now  at  times  suffer 
from  the  old  contusion.  Like  many  another 
disaster,  this  proved  at  length  a  blessing,  as 
will  yet  be  seen. 

The  state  of  society  in  Tennessee  and  Ala 
bama,  observed  on  our  retreat,  calls  for  no 
special  remarks,  except  as  to  its  loyalty  to  the 
Confederate  usurpation.  I  am  often  asked 
respecting  the  Union  feeling  in  the  seceded 
States,  and  can  only  answer,  that  while  I  was 
there  I  did  not  see  any.  My  position  as  an 


132  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

officer  was  not  the  most  favorable  for  finding  it 
if  it  had  existed,  still  I  would  have  seen  the 
smallest  evidences  had  they  anywhere  cropped 
out  around  me,  as  I  was  on  the  lookout  for 
this;  and  then  my  last  months  in  the  South 
were  spent  among  the  citizens,  where  1  must 
have  seen  any  Union  sentiment  if  it  showed 
itself  at  all.  The  truth  is,  and  it  should  be 
stated  frankly :  the  whole  people,  men,  women, 
and  children,  were  a  unit,  cemented  together 
under  a  high  heat  in  opposition  to  "  the  in 
vaders." 

"  But  were  there  not  many  who  if  they  had 
opportunity  would  have  proclaimed  themselves 
for  the  United  States  Government?"  That 
question  is  answered  in  part  by  the  conduct  of 
most  of  the  inhabitants  in  the  Southern  cities 
and  neighborhoods  already  occupied  by  the 
loyal  troops.  Up  to  this  writing,  the  develop 
ments  have  not  been  very  encouraging.  Yet  I 
doubt  not  there  are  some,  who  in  the  depth  of 
their  hearts  believe  Secession  wrong,  and  as  a 
principle  destructive  to  all  government,  and 
who  long  for  the  return  of  the  peaceful  and 


IN    THE    REBEL    AKMY.  133 

beneficent  authority  of  the  Constitution  and 
laws  of  the  Union ;  but  they  are  too  few  and 
timid  to  exert  the  smallest  influence.  Nor  dare 
they  attempt  it.  The  tyranny  of  public  opinion 
is  absolute.  No  young  man  able  to  bear  arms 
dares  to  remain  at  home  ;  even  if  the  recruiting 
officers  and  the  conscription  law  both  fail  to 
reach  him,  he  falls  under  the  proscription  of 
the  young  ladies  and  must  volunteer,  as  I  did, 
though  from  not  quite  the  same  kind  of  force. 
And  then,  no  expression  of  Union  feeling 
would  be  tolerated  for  a  moment.  From  their 
stand-point,  why  should  it?  They  feel  them 
selves  engaged  in  a  death-struggle,  to  defend 
their  property,  honor,  and  life.  Any  hint  of 
Unionism  among  them  is  treachery  to  all  their 
interests,  and,  besides,  a  rebuke  upon  their 
whole  rebellion.  When  the  North  becomes  as 
deeply  and  generally  enlisted  in  the  war  as  the 
South,  and  feel  it  to  be  a  struggle  for  existence 
as  keenly  as  they  do,  no  man  here  will  dare  to 
express  sentiments  favoring  the  people  or  insti 
tutions  of  Rebeldom. 

"  But  how,"  I  am  asked,  "  how  can  good  and 


134:  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

sensible  men,  and  ministers,  even,  thus  take 
ground  against  a  beneficent  government,  and 
justify  themselves  in  attempting  its  destruc 
tion  ?"  Among  the  facts  I  have  noted  in  my 
brief  life,  one  is  this :  That  the  masses  of  men 
do  not  reason,  but  feel.  A  few  minds  give  the 
cue,  and  the  herd  follow ;  and  when  passion 
takes  possession  of  the  heart,  its  fumes  obscure 
the  brain,  and  they  can  not  see  the  truth.  A 
general  impression  reiterated  in  a  thousand 
forms,  always  affirmed  and  never  denied,  fills 
the  mind,  and  is  believed  to  be  the  truth.  And 
thus  it  is  with  the  people.  "  Are  they  sincere  ?" 
Yes,  as  sincere  as  ever  were  martyrs  in  going  to 
the  stake.  This  is  demonstrated  by  their  whole 
conduct;  and  conduct  is  the  test  of  sincerity, 
while  it  proves  but  little  as  to  the  righteousness 
of  the  cause. 

In  addition  it  should  be  said,  the  common 
feeling  is,  "  We  are  in  for  a  fight,  and  must  carry 
it  through ;  there  is  no  hope  for  us  but  in  fight 
ing;  if  we  give  up  now,  our  institutions  are 
ruined,  and  we  forever  the  vassals  of  the  domi 
neering  and  meddling  Yankees."  This  the  lead- 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  135 

ers  and  prominent  men  feel  most  acutely,  and 
hence  they  will  fight  to  the  last,  and  keep  the 
people  up  to  that  point  as  long  as  possible. 
How  long  that  will  be  depends  upon  the  will  ot 
the  North,  as  no  sane  man  doubts  they  have  the* 
power,  and  no  loyal  man  questions  the  right. 
But  the  spirit,  the  enthusiasm,  the  enlistment 
of  all  the  people  with  all  their  power  and  re 
sources,  are,  with  the  South,  as  yet  far  beyond 
any  thing  I  have  seen  North. 

I  may  here  state  that  the  Confederate  author 
ities  have  complete  control  of  the  press,  so  that 
nothing  is  ever  allowed  to  appear  in  print  which 
can  give  information  to  the  North  or  dishearten 
their  own  men.  In  this  it  appears  to  me  that  they 
have  an  unspeakable  advantage  over  the  North, 
with  its  numberless  papers  and  hundreds  of  cor 
respondents  in  the  loyal  armies.  Under  such  a 
system  it  is  an  absolute  impossibility  to  con 
ceal  the  movements  of  the  army.  With  what 
the  correspondents  tell  and  surmise,  and  what 
the  Confederates  find  out  through  spies  and  in 
formers  of  various  kinds,  they  are  able  to  see 
through  many  of  the  plans  of  the  Union  forces 


136  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

before  they  are  put  into  execution.  No  more 
common  remark  did  I  hear  than  this,  as  officers 
were  reading  the  Northern  papers :  "  See  what 

fools  these  Yankees   are.     General  A has 

left  B for  C .     We  will  cut  him   off. 

Why  the  Northern  generals  or  the  Secretary  of 
War  tolerate  this  freedom  of  news  we  can  not 
imagine."  Every  daily  paper  I  have  read  since 
coming  North  has  contained  information,  either 
by  direct  statement  or  implication,  which  the 
enemy  can  profit  by.  If  we  meant  to  play  into 
the  hands  of  the  Eebels,  we  could  hardly  do  it 
more  successfully  than  our  papers  are  doing  it- 
daily;  for  it  must  be  remembered  that  they 
only  need  hints  and  scraps  of  information, 
which,  added  to  the  antecedent  probabilities 
that  our  army  is  about  to  proceed  to  a  certain 
point,  will  enable  them  to  forecast  with  almost 
absolute  certainty  the  movements  of  their  ene 
mies.  Sure  am  I,  that  if  a  Southern  paper 
svould  publish  such  information  of  their  move 
ments,  as  do  the  Northern  of  theirs,  the  editor's 
neck  would  not  be  safe  an  hour. 
Does  any  reader  aver,  "  But  we  see  informa- 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  137 

tion  often  quoted  from  the  Southern  papers  of 
their  movements."  Never,  until  they  are  made. 
It  is  safe  to  conclude,  if  you  see  in  a  Southern 
paper  any  statement  that  the  army  is  about  to 
do  a  certain  thing,  that  they  will  not  do  any 
such  thing,  but  something  v ery  different.  No, 
the  Southern  government  is  now  a  complete 
military  despotism,  and  for  a  successful  carry 
ing  on  of  the  war  against  them  I  think  we  must 
adopt,  to  some  extent,  the  same  rigid  policy. 
Freedom  of  opinion  is  a  precious  right,  and 
freedom  of  the  press  a  valuable  boon,  but  when 
the  publication  of  news  and  the  utterance  of 
personal  opinions  endanger  the  lives  of  our  sol 
diers,  and  even  the  success  of  our  armies,  surely 
it  is  the  duty  of  the  government  to  restrain  that 
utterance. 


138  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 


CHAPTER   V. 

COURIER   SERVICE. 

New  Duties. — Battle  approaching. — Deserters  and  Scouts. — A 
Providence. — Position  and  Forces  of  the  Confederates. — Orders 
to  prepare  to  move. — My  New  Position. — March  to  the  Battle 
Field.— Federals  off  their  Guard.— Care  of  the  Confederates 
against  Desertion. — Council  of  War. — A  Dreary  Night. — Awful- 
ness  of  War. — The  Fight  opened. — Beauregard's  Address. — 
The  First  Dead.— Detour.— Camp  of  71st  Ohio  Volunteers.— 
Failure  of  Strategy.— General  Johnson  killed. — Death  con 
cealed. — Furious  Fighting. — Horse  killed. — Sad  Scene. — Rebels 
gaining.— Struck  by  a  Shell.— Another  Horse  killed. — The 
Wounded  Cavalryman  and  his  Horse. — Sleep  in  the  Camp  of 
the  71st  Ohio.— Startling  Reveille.— Result  of  First  Day's  Bat 
tle. — Victory  for  the  Rebels. — Arrangements  for  Second  Day. — 
Bloody  Scenes.— Grant's  Attack.— Rebels  fall  back.— Fluctua 
tions  of  the  Day.— General  Hindmaii  blown  up. — Retreat  de 
termined  on. — Leaving  the  Field. — Horrors  of  the  Retreat. — 
Sleep  amcwig  the  Dying. — Reach  Corinth. — Resolve. 

GENERAL  BKECKENKIDGE,  about  the  1st  of 
April,  let  me  know  that  he  would  soon  wish 
me  to  act  on  his  staff  as  special  aid-de-can  tp, 
and  advised  me  to  instruct  the  next  officers  in 
command  what  to  do  in  my  absence. 

But,  before  proceeding  further,  let  us  return 
to  the  movements  of  the  Federal  army  under 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  139 

General  Grant,  which  we  left  at  Fort  Donelson 
in  February. 

During  the  month  of  March,  this  army  was 
transported  down  the  Cumberland  and  up  the 
Tennessee  river  in  boats,  and  landed  at  Pitts- 
burg,  near  the  foot  of  Muscle  Shoals,  beyond 
which  large  transport  boats  could  not  pass. 
They  camped  about  twenty  miles  from  Corinth, 
Mississippi,  and  were  awaiting  BuelPs  column, 
before  making  an  advance  on  Corinth. 

Deserters  and  scouts  gave  Beauregard  early 
notice  of  Grant's  flotilla  at  Pittsburg  Landing, 
about  the  1st  of  April.  Let  me  here  repeat  that 
the  Bebel  army  has  an  incalculable  advantage 
over  the  Federal  troops,  because  fighting  on 
their  own  soil,  and  where  every  man,  woman, 
and  child  is  a  swift  witness  against  "the  in 
vaders." 

Beauregard  and  Johnson  in  conjoint  com 
mand,  resolved  to  attack  Grant  at  Pittsburg 
Landing  before  Buell  should  join  him.  And 
here  occurred  one  of  those  accidents,  or  provi 
dences,  as  a  Christian  man  rightly  regards  them, 
which  decided  the  character  of  the  contest  and 


140  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

its  result.  Grant  was  expecting  Buell  with  re 
inforcements  ;  Beauregard  was  looking  for  Price 
and  Yan  Dorn,  with  30,000  Missouri  and  Ar 
kansas  troops,  who  were  coming  down  White 
River.  They  were  expected  to  come  to  Mem 
phis  by  boat,  and  to  Corinth  by  rail,  and  it  was 
hoped  they  would  reach  the  Rebel  forces  by 
Sunday,  the  6th  of  April.  Hence  our  attack 
was  delayed  from  Saturday  the  5th,  when  we 
were  ready  to  make  it,  in  order  to  give  time  for 
at  least  the  advance  guard  of  our  reinforcements 
to  come  up.  This  delay  prevented  the  complete 
defeat  and  rout  of  Grant's  whole  force,  as  the 
Confederates  since  believe.  I  merely  give  this 
as  their  opinion.  Indeed,  my  whole  narration 
of  events  is  intended  to  present  the  facts  as  they 
appeared  to  those  with  whom  I  was  constrained 
to  act.  To  give  as  clear  a  view  as  possible  of 
the  Southern  side  of  that  destructive  conflict, 
let  the  situation  and  strength  of  the  Rebel  army 
be  especially  noted.  On  Thursday,  the  3d  of 
April,  the  preparations  for  the  attack  were  com 
pleted  by  the  commanding  generals.  Our  army 
then  presented  a  front  toward  Shiloh  cross- 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  141 

roads  and  church,  which  place  was  occupied  by 
General  Grant's  advance.  The  right  wing, 
commanded  by  Brevet  Major-general  John  C. 
Breckenridge,  rested  at  Burnsville,  ten  miles 
east  of  Corinth,  on  the  Memphis  and  Charleston 
railroad.  The  center  and  left  were  massed  at 
and  near  Corinth,  the  center  commanded  by 
Major-generals  Hardee  and  Bragg,  and  the  left 
by  Major-general  Polk  and  Brevet  Major-gen 
eral  Hindman. 

Breckenridge  had  11,000  men,  Bragg  and 
Hardee  about  20,000,  Hindman  and  Polk  not 
far  from  10,000.  The  whole  Confederate  force 
was  afterward  stated  in  their  official  reports  to 
be  39,000  men  ;  it  probably  reached  45,000,  but 
certainly  not  more.  This  statement  will  create 
surprise,  and  perhaps  denial,  but  I  know  where 
of  I  affirm  in  this.  At  that  time  I  did  not  know 
it,  nor  did  the  troops  generally  have  any  clear 
idea  of  our  force. 

On  Friday  the  4th,  orders  reached  us,  at  two 
p.  M.,  to  prepare  five  days'  rations,  roll  up  our 
tents,  leave  them,  and  be  prepared  to  march  in 
two  hours,  with  forty  rounds  of  ammunition. 


142  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

At  the  same  time  an  aid  from  General  Brecken- 
ridge  ordered  me  to  go  to  his  head-quarters, 
with  six  reliable  men.  In  a  few  minutes  we 
answered  to  the  order,  every  man  splendidly 
mounted,  and  ready  for  any  mission  which  he 
should  designate. 

With  his  quick  eye  he  selected  one  for  one 
duty  and  one  for  another,  until  each  had  sped 
away ;  and  turning  to  me,  he  said,  "  You  will 
act  as  a  special  aid-de-camp"  This  announce 
ment  I  received  with  especial  gratification,  as  it 
would  relieve  me  of  all  actual  fighting  against 
the  Old  Flag,  and  give  me  an  opportunity  to 
see  far  more  of  the  progress  of  the  battle  which 
was  to  ensue  than  if  I  were  confined  to  the 
ranks.  The  special  danger  of  the  mission  to 
which  I  was  called  made  no  impression  upon 
me.  I  can  not  recall  any  time  when  I  had  a  fear 
of  falling,  and  I  had  none  then.  From  that 
hour  until  the  close  of  the  battle  on  Monday,  I 
,vas  near  General  Breckenridge,  or  conveying 
dispatches  to  others  from  him ;  hence  my  nar 
rative  of  the  scenes  of  the  next  three  days  will 
be  mainly  of  what  occurred  in  General  Brecken- 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  143 

ridge's  division,  and  what  I  saw  while  traversing 
the  field  of  action,  which  I  crossed  and  recrossed 
twelve  times. 

On  Friday,  at  eight  p.  M.,  we  commenced 
to  move  toward  Shiloh,  in  silence,  and  with 
great  circumspection,  the  army  on  different,  but 
converging  roads.  We  made  eight  miles,  and 
reached  Monterey,  a  little  more  than  seven 
miles  from  Shiloh,  at  five  o'clock  on  Saturday 
morning.  Here  the  different  divisions  formed 
a  junction,  and  marched  forward  prepared  for 
action,  though  not  immediately  expecting  it. 
We  proceeded  with  extreme  caution  until  within 
three  and  a  half  miles  of  Grant's  pickets,  and 
until  our  scouts  had  determined  their  situation. 
We  could  get  no  nearer  without  bringing  on  an 
engagement;  and  as  General  Beauregard  had 
gragf  confidence  that  the  reinforcements  would 
arrive  by  morning,  the  afternoon  of  Saturday 
was  spent  in  making  all  necessary  disposition 
of  the  forces  for  an  early  and  combined  attack 
on  Sunday  morning. 

While  it  is  no  part  of  my  duty,  in  this  narra 
tive,  to  criticise  military  movements,  and  espe- 


144  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

cially  those  of  the  Union  forces,  I  may  state  that 
the  total  absence  of  cavalry  pickets  from  Gen 
eral  Grant's  army  was  a  matter  of  perfect  amaze 
ment  to  the  Rebel  officers.  There  were  abso 
lutely  none  on  Grant's  left,  where  General 
Breckenridge's  division  was  meeting  him,  so 
that  we  were  able  to  come  up  within  hearing 
of  their  drums  entirely  unperceived. 

The  Southern  generals  always  kept  cavalry 
pickets  out  for  miles,  even  when  no  enemy  was 
supposed  to  be  within  a  day's  march  of  them. 
The  infantry  pickets  of  Grant's  forces  were  not 
above  three-fourths  of  a  mile  from  his  advance 
camps,  and  they  were  too  few  to  make  any  re 
sistance.  With  these  facts  all  made  known  to 
our  head-quarters  on  Saturday  evening,  our 
army  was  arranged  for  battle  with  the  certainty 
of  a  surprise,  and  almost  the  assurance  of  a  vic 
tory.  Every  regiment  was  carefully  and  doubly 
guarded,  so  that  no  man  might  glide  away  from 
our  ranks  and  put  the  Union  forces  on  their 
guard.  This  I  noted  particularly,  as  I  was 
studying  plans  of  escape  that  night,  that  I 
might  put  the  loyal  forces  on  their  guard 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  145 

against  the  fearful  avalanche  ready  to  be  hurled 
upon  them.  I  already  saw  that  they  would 
stand  no  fair  chance  for  victory,  taken  com 
pletely  at  unawares.  But  the  orders  were  im 
perative  to  allow  no  man  to  leave  the  ranks, 
and  to  shoot  the  first  who  should  attempt  it  on 
any  pretence.  Then  of  the  nature  of  the  ground 
between  the  opposing  forces  I  knew  nothing, 
except  that  it  was  said  to  be  crossed  and  seamed 
by  swamps,  in  many  places  almost  impassable 
by  daylight,  much  more  so  at  night.  If,  then, 
I  should  attempt  to  desert,  I  must  run  the 
gauntlet  of  our  own  double  guard,  risk  the 
chance  of  making  the  three  or  four  miles 
through  woods  and  swamps  in  deep  darkness, 
and  the  more  hazardous  chance,  on  reaching 
the  Federal  lines,  of  being  shot  by  their  pickets. 
I  was  therefore  compelled  to  relinquish  the  hope 
of  escape  that  night — a  sad  necessity,  for  if  I 
had  succeeded,  it  might  have  saved  many  Union 
lives. 

About  eight  o'clock  p.  M.  a  council  of  war 
was  held  among  the  principal  generals,  and  the 

plan   of  battle   arranged.     In  an   open   space, 
10 


146  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

with  a  dim  fire  in  the  midst,  and  a  drum  on 
which  to  write,  you  could  see  grouped  around 
their  "  little  JSTapoleon,"  as  Beauregard  was 
sometimes  fondly  called,  ten  or  twelve  generals, 
the  flickering  light  playing  over  their  eager 
faces,  while  they  listened  to  his  plans  and  made 
suggestions  as  to  the  conduct  of  the  fight.  He 
soon  warmed  with  his  subject,  and  throwing  off 
his  cloak  to  give  free  play  to  his  arms,  he 
walked  about  in  the  group,  gesticulating  rapid 
ly,  and  jerking  out  his  sentences  with  a  strong 
French  accent.  All  listened  attentively,  and 
the  dim  light  just  revealing  their  countenances 
showed  their  different  emotions  of  confidence  or 
distrust  in  his  plans.  General  Sidney  Johnson 
stood  apart  from  the  rest,  with  his  tall  straight 
form  standing  out  like  a  specter  against  the 
dim  sky,  and  the  illusion  was  fully  sustained 
by  the  light-gray  military  cloak  which  he 
folded  around  him.  His  face  was  pale,  but 
wore  a  determined  expression,  and  at  times  he 
drew  nearer  the  center  of  the  ring  and  said  a 
few  words,  which  were  listened  to  with  great 
attention.  It  may  be  he  had  some  foreboding 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  147 

of  the  fate  he  was  to  meet  on  the  morrow,  for 
he  did  not  seem  to  take  much  part  in  the  dis 
cussion.  General  Breckenridge  lay  stretched 
out  on  a  blanket  near  the  fire,  and  occasionally 
sat  upright  and  added  a  few  words  of  counsel. 
General  Bragg  spoke  frequently  and  with  earn 
estness.  General  Polk  sat  on  a  camp-stool  at 
the  outside  of  the  circle,  and  held  his  head 
between  his  hands,  seeming  buried  in  thought. 
Others  reclined  or  sat  in  various  positions. 
What  a  grand  study  for  a  Rembrandt  was  this, 
to  see  these  men,  who  held  the  lives  of  many 
thousands  in  their  power,  planning  how  best  to 
invoke  the  angel  Azrael  to  hurl  his  darts  with 
the  breaking  of  morning  light. 

For  two  hours  the  council  lasted,  and  as  it 
broke  up,  and  the  generals  were  ready  to  return 
to  their  respective  commands,  I  heard  General 
Beauregard  say, — raising  his  hand  and  pointing 
in  the  direction  of  the  Federal  camps,  whose 
drums  we  could  plainly  hear, — "  Gentlemen, 
we  sleep  in  the  enemy's  camp  to-morrow  night." 

The  Confederate  generals  had  minute  infor 
mation  of  General  Grant's  position  and  num- 


148  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

bers.  This  knowledge  was  obtained  through 
spies  and  informers,  some  of  whom  had  lived 
in  that  part  of  the  country  and  knew  every 
foot  of  the  ground. 

Yet  that  was  a  dreary  night  to  prepare  for  the 
dreadful  battle  of  to-morrow.  The  men  were 
already  weary,  hungry,  and  cold.  No  fires  were 
allowed,  except  in  holes  in  the  ground,  over 
which  the  soldiers  bent  with  their  blankets 
round  their  shoulders,  striving  to  catch  and 
concentrate  the  little  heat  that  struggled  up 
through  the  bleak  April  air.  Many  a  poor  fel 
low  wrote  his  last  sentence  in  his  note-book  that- 
night  by  the  dim  light  of  these  smothered  fires, 
and  sat  and  talked  in  undertones  of  home, 
wife,  and  mother,  sister  or  sweetheart.  Prom 
ises  were  made  to  take  care  of  each  other,  if 
wounded,  or  send  word  home,  if  slain ;  keep 
sakes  were  looked  at  again  for  the  last  time, 
and  silent  prayers  were  offered  by  men  unused 
to  look  above.  What  an  awful  thing  is  war! 
Here  lay,  almost  within  cannon-shot  of  one  an 
other,  eighty  or  ninety  thousand  men — brothers 
of  the  same  race  and  nation,  many  of  them 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  149 

blood  relations  ;  thousands  of  them  believing  in 
the  same  Saviour,  and  worshiping  the  same 
God,  their  prayers  meeting  that  night  at  the 
throne  of  Heavenly  Grace ; — yet  waiting  for  the 
light  of  the  holy  Sabbath  that  they  may  see  how 
most  surely  to  destroy  one  another !  And  yet 
the  masses  of  these  have  no  ill  feeling.  It  is 
human  butchery,  at  the  bidding  of  arch-con 
spirators.  Upon  them  be  all  the  blood  shed ! 
A  fearful  guilt  is  theirs ! 

What  sleep  the  men  could  get  on  the  cold, 
damp  ground,  with  little  protection  or  fire,  they 
secured  during  the  early  part  of  Saturday  night. 
On  Sunday  morning,  the  6th  of  April,  we  were 
under  arms  and  ready  to  move  by  three  o'clock. 

General  Hardee,  one  of  the  bravest  men  in 
the  Confederate  service,  led  the  advance  and 
center,  and  made  the  attack.  Had  I  not  been 
called  to  staff  duty,  I  should  have  been  in  the 
advance  with  my  company.  Glad  was  I  that 
I  was  not  called  to  fire  upon  the  unsuspect 
ing  soldiers  of  my  Northern  home.  As  the  day 
dawned  we  could  hear  the  musketry,  first  in 
dropping  shots,  then  volley  after  volley,  as  the 


150  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

battle  grew  hotter.  A  little  after  daylight  we 
passed  General  Beauregard  and  staff,  who  were 
then  over  a  mile  in  rear  of  the  troops  engaged. 
He  addressed  each  brigade  as  it  passed,  assuring 
them  of  a  glorious  victory,  telling  them  to  fight 
with  perfect  confidence,  as  he  had  80,000  men 
available,  who  should  come  into  action  as  fast 
as  needed ;  and  wherever  reinforcements  were 
wanted,  Beauregard  would  be  there.  This  boast 
of  80,000  men  the  officers  knew  to  be  false,  as 
he  had  not  a  man  over  45,000 ;  but  as  he  ex 
pected  30,000  under  Price  and  Yan  Dorn  he 
counted  them  in,  and  added  10,000  more  to 
strengthen  confidence.  But  neither  he  nor  any 
other  Confederate  general  asks  any  defence  for 
such  statements.  "  Military  necessity"  will  jus 
tify  any  course  they  choose  to  take  in  advancing 
their  cause.  After  we  passed  Beauregard,  a 
few  minutes  of  "  double  quick"  brought  our  di 
vision  to  Grant's  advance  pickets,  who  had  been 
surprised  and  cut  down  by  Hardee's  cavalry. 
This  was  the  first  time  many  of  the  soldiers 
had  seen  men  killed  in  battle,  and  they  stepped 
carefully  around  the  dead  bodies,  arid  seemed 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  151 

to  shudder  at  the  sight.  General  Breckenridge 
observing  it,  said  quickly,  "Never  mind  this, 
boys ;  press  on  !"  Before  night,  those  who  re 
mained  walked  over  dead  bodiesdn  heaps  with 
out  a  shudder.  We  soon  reached  an  open  field, 
about  eighty  rods  wide,  on  the  further  side  of 
which  we  could  see  the  camps,  and  the  smoke 
of  battle  just  beyond.  We  here  made  a  sharp 
detour  to  the  right,  and  ascended  a  broken  range 
of  hills,  pressing  on  for  nearly  a  mile.  Here  we 
took  position  just  in  front  of  General  Albert 
Sidney  Johnson  and  staff,  and  awaited  orders. 
General  Breckenridge  rode  up  to  General  John 
son,  and  after  conversing  in  a  low  tone  for  a  few 
minutes,  Johnson  said,  so  that  many  heard  it, 
"  I  will  lead  your  brigade  into  the  fight  to-day  ; 
for  I  intend  to  show  these  Tennesseans  and  Ken- 
tuckians  that  I  am  no  coward."  Poor  general ! 
you  were  not  allowed  the  privilege.  We  then 
advanced  in  line  of  battle,  and  General  Statham's 
brigade  was  engaged  first.  "  Boys,"  said  Breck 
enridge,  "we  must  take  that  battery  which  is 
shelling  Statham.  Will  you  do  it?"  A  wild 
shout  of  "*Ay,  ay,  sir,"  and  "Forward  to  take 


152  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

that  battery,"  was  the  word  ;  but  before  we 
reached  the  ground  it  was  withdrawn.  We 
now  advanced,  cautiously,  and  soon  entered  the 
camp  of  the  Seventy-first  Ohio  Volunteers.  By 
this  time,  ten  o'clock  A.  M.,  the  battle  seemed  to 
be  raging  along  the  whole  line. 

A  part  of  the  original  plan  of  battle  was  to 
have  a  space  several  hundred  yards  wTide  be 
tween  Breckenridge's  left  and  Hardee's  right, 
and  thus  invite  Grant's  men  into  a  trap.  They 
refusing  to  be  entrapped,  and  keeping  their 
front  unbroken,  Breckenridge  sent  me  to  Gen 
eral  Johnson  for  new  instructions.  When  I 
had  come  within  about  ten  rods  of  Johnson's 
staff,  a  shell  burst  in  the  air  about  equidistant 
from  myself  and  the  staff.  The  missiles  of 
death  seemed  to  fill  the  air  in  every  direction, 
and  almost  before  the  fragments  had  found 
their  resting-place,  I  reined  up  my  horse  and 
saluted.  General  Johnson,  who  was  in  front  of 
his  staff,  had  turned  away  his  horse  and  was 
leaning  a  little  forward,  pressing  his  right  knee 
against  the  saddle.  In  a  moment,  and  before 
the  dispatch  was  delivered,  the  staff  discovered 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  153 

that  their  leader  was  wounded,  and  hastened  to 
his  assistance.  A  piece  of  the  shell,  whose 
fragments  had  flown  so  thick  around  me  as  1 
came  up,  ha4  struck  his  thigh  half  way  be 
tween  his  hip  and  knee,  and  cut  a  wide  path 
through,  severing  the  femoral  artery.  Had  he 
been  instantly  taken  from  his  horse  and  a  tour 
niquet  applied,  he  might  perhaps  have  been 
saved.  When  reproached  by  Governor  Harris, 
chief  of  staff  and  his  brother-in-law,  for  conceal 
ing  his  wound  while  his  life-blood  was  ebbing 
away,  he  replied,  with  true  nobility  of  soul, 
"  My  life  is  nothing  to  the  success  of  this  charge ; 
had  I  exclaimed  I  was  wounded  when  the  troops 
were  passing,  it  might  have  created  a  panic  and 
defeat."  In  ten  minutes  after  he  was  lifted 
from  his  horse  he  ceased  to  breathe.  Thus  died 
one  of  the  bravest  generals  in  the  Rebel  army. 
My  dispatch  was  taken  by  Colonel  Wickliffe 
and  handed  to  Harris,  who  directed  me  to  take 
it  to  General  Beauregard.  When  he  had  read 
it,  he  asked — 

"  Why  did  you  not  take  this  to  General  John 
son?" 


154:       ^          THIKTEEN    MONTHS 
"  I  did,  Sir." 

"  Did  he  tell  you  to  bring  it  to  me  ?" 

"  General  Johnson  is  dead,  sir." 

"  How  do  you  know  3"  ^ 

"  I  saw  him  die  ten  minutes  ago  ?" 

"  How  was  he  killed  ?" 

I  told  him.  He  then  dictated  two  dispatches, 
one  to  Governor  Harris  and  one  to  General 
Breckenridge,  telling  them  to  conceal  the  death 
of  Johnson,  and  bidding  me  not  to  speak  of  it 
to  any  one.  So  far  as  the  report  of  his  death 
was  circulated  the  officers  denied  it,  some  affirm 
ing  that  it  was  Governor  Johnson  of  Kentucky 
who  was  killed,  others  admitting  that  General 
A.  S.  Johnson  was  slightly  wounded.  The  army 
knew  not  of  his  death  till  they  reached  Corinth. 

When  I  returned  to  General  Breckenridge's 
staff  they  had  advanced  half  a  mile,  and  were 
furiously  engaged  within  half-rnusket  range  with 
both  small-arms  and  artillery.  About  noon  Gen 
eral  Bowen's  brigade — Breckenridge's  left — was 
forced  to  fall  back  for  ammunition  and  to  re 
form,  their  place  being  supplied  by  two  regi 
ments  of  Louisiana  troops.  Here,  from  two  to 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  155 

four  P.  M.,  was  the  hardest  fighting  in  the  battle. 
Breckenridge's  own  brigade  losing  nearly  one- 
fourth  within  two  hours.  The  fire  of  the  Union 
troops  was  low  and  very  effective.  A  battery 
here  did  fearful  execution  among  the  Rebels 
with  shell,  grape,  and  canister.  A  wounded 
gunner  belonging  to  this  battery  told  me  the 
shells  were  fired  with  one-second  fuses.  Our 
men  were  ordered  to  lie  down  and  load,  and  yet 
many  were  killed  in  this  position,  so  accurate 
was  the  fire  of  the  Federal  troops.  I  saw  five 
men  killed  by  the  explosion  .of  one  shell. 

About  three  o'clock  I  was  sent  to  the  rear 
with  dispatches  of  the  progress  of  the  battle, 
and  asking  reinforcements.  When  about  half 
way  to  Beauregard's  staff,  riding  at  full  gallop, 
my  first  serious  accident  occurred,  my  life 
being  saved  by  but  a  hair's  breadth.  As  my 
horse  rose  in  a  long  leap,  his  fore-feet  in  the  air 
and  his  head  about  as  high  as  my  shoulder,  a 
cannon-ball  struck  him  above  the  eye  and 
carried  away  the  upper  part  of  his  head.  Of 
course  the  momentum  carried  his  lifeless  body 
some  ten  feet  ahead,  and  hurled  me  some  dis- 


156  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

tance  further, — saber,  pistols,  and  all.  I  gath 
ered  myself  up,  and  to  my  surprise  was  not 
hurt  in  the  least.  One  second  later,  the  ball 
would  have  struck  me  and  spared  the  horse. 
Thankful  for  my  life,  I  threw  off  my  saber  and 
iny  tight  uniform-coat,  gave  my  pistols  to  a 
cavalryman  near  by,  and  started  in  search  of 
another  horse.  General  Breckenridge  had  told 
me  in  the  morning,  if  my  horse  was  killed  to 
take  the  first  unemployed  one  I  could  find.  I 
knew  where  some  of  the  infantry  field-officers 
had  tied  their  horses  in  a  ravine  in  the  rear, 
and  while  seeking  them,  I  met  a  scene  which 
lives  in  iny  memory  as  if  it  were  but  yesterday. 
I  had  just  filled  my  canteen  at  a  spring,  and 
as  I  turned  from  it  my  eye  met  the  uplifted 
gaze  of  a  Federal  officer,  I  think  a  colonel  of 
an  Illinois  regiment,  who  was  lying  desperately 
wounded,  shot  through  the  body  and  both  legs, 
his  dead  horse  lying  on  one  of  his  shattered 
limbs.  A  cannon-ball  had  passed  through  his 
horse  and  both  of  his  own  knees.  He  looked 
pleadingly  for  a  drink,  but  hesitated  to  ask  it  of 
an  enemy,  as  he  supposed  me  to  be.  I  came  up 


IN    THE    REBEL     ARMY.  157 

to   him,   and   said,    "You   seem   to   be    badly 
wounded,  sir;  will  you  have  some  water?" 

"  Oh,  yes,"  said  he ;  "  but  I  feared  to  ask  you 
for  it." 

"Why?" 

"  Because  I  expected  no  favor  of  an  enemy." 

Two  other  men  coming  by,  I  called  them  to 
aid  in  removing  the  dead  horse  from  his 
wounded  limb.  They  did  so,  and  then  passed 
on  ;  but  I  seemed  bound  to  him  as  by  a  spell. 
His  manly  face  and  soldierly  bearing,  when 
suffering  so  terribly,  charmed  me.  I  changed 
his  position,  adjusted  his  head,  arranged  his 
mangled  legs  in  an  easy  posture,  supporting 
them  by  leaves  stuffed  under  the  blanket  on 
which  we  had  laid  him.  In  the  mean  time  he 
took  out  his  watch  and  money,  and  requested 
me  to  hand  him  his  pistols  from  the  saddle- 
holsters,  and  urged  me  to  take  them,  as  some 
one  might  rob  him,  and  I  was  the  only  one 
who  had  shown  him  kindness.  I  declined,  and 
wrapping  them  up  in  a  blanket,  placed  them 
under  his  head,  telling  him  the  fortunes  of  war 
might  yet  bring  his  own  troops  to  his  side. 


158  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

He  seemed  overcome,  and  said,  "My  friend, 
why  this  kindness  to  an  enemy  ?" 

As  I  gave  him  another  draught  of  water,  I 
said,  "  lam  not  the  enemy  I  seem  ;"  and  press 
ing  his  hand,  I  walked  quickly  on. 

He  could  not  live  long,  but  I  hope  his  friends 
found  him  as  they  swept  back  over  the  ground 
the  next  day. 

I  soon  found  a  splendid  horse,  and  rode  to 
General  Beauregard  for  orders,  and  reached  my 
own  general  about  four  o'clock  p.  M.  I  found 
that  the  Federal  troops  had  fallen  back  more 
than  a  mile,  but  were  still  fiercely  contending 
for  the  ground.  The  Rebels  were  confident  of 
victory,  and  pressed  them  at  every  point.  I 
had  scarce  time  to  mark  the  condition  of  things 
however,  until  I  was  again  dispatched  to  the 
commander-in-chief.  I  had  but  fairly  started, 
when  I  was  struck  on  the  right  side  by  a  piece 
of  a  shell  almost  spent,  which  yet  came  near 
ending  my  earthly  career.  My  first  feeling 
after  the  shock  was  one  of  giddiness  and  blind 
ness,  then  of  partial  recovery,  then  of  deathly 
sickness.  I  succeeded  in  getting  off  rather  than 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  159 

falling  from  my  horse,  near  the  root  of  a  tree, 
where  I  fainted  and  lay  insensible  for  nearly  an 
hour.  At  length,  I  recovered  so  far  as  to  be 
able  to  remount  my  horse,  whose  bridle  I  had 
somehow  held  all  the  time,  though  unconscious 
ly.  I  had  ridden  but  a  few  rods  when  a  mus 
ket-ball  passed  through  the  neck  of  this,  my 
second  horse,  but,  to  my  surprise,  he  did  not 
fall  immediately.  A  tremor  ran  through  his 
frame  which  I  felt,  convincing  me  that  he  was 
mortally  wounded.  I  dismounted,  and  stood 
watching  him.  He  soon  sank  on  his  knees,  and 
then  slowly  lay  down  on  his  side.  As  his  life- 
blood  ebbed  away,  his  eye  glazed,  and  making 
a  last  futile  effort  to  rise,  he  fell  back  again  and 
died  with  a  groan  almost  like  the  last  agony  of 
a  human  being.  The  pain  of  my  side  and  my 
knee,  which  was  never  entirely  free  from  pain, 
grew  worse,  and  I  saw  that  unless  I  found  sur 
gical  attendance  and  rest,  I  would  soon  be  ex 
hausted.  In  making  my  way  to  the  general 
hospital  which  was  established  on  the  ground 
where  the  battle  commenced,  I  met  one  of  For 
rest's  cavalry,  wounded  in  the  foot,  and  very 


160  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

weak  from  loss  of  blood.  With  my  handker 
chief  and  a  short  stick,  I  made  a  simple  tourni 
quet,  which  stopped  the  bleeding,  when  I  ac 
companied  him  to  the  hospital.  After  the 
dressing  of  my  wound,  which  was  an  extensive 
bruise,  about  five  inches  in  diameter,  I  took  the 
cavalryman's  horse,  and  started  back  to  my 
command.  When  I  had  reached  the  camp  of 
the  71st  Ohio  Volunteers,  my  strength  failed, 
and  after  getting  something  to  eat  for  myself 
and  horse,  and  a  bucket  of  water  to  bathe  my 
side  during  the  night,  I  tied  my  horse  near  the 
door  of  a  tent,  and  crept  in  to  try  to  sleep.  But 
the  shells  from  the  gunboats,  which  made  night 
hideous,  the  groans  of  the  wounded,  and  the 
pleadings  of  the  dying,  for  a  time  prevented. 
Weariness  at  length  overcame  me,  and  sleep 
followed  more  refreshing  and  sound  than  1 
hoped  for  under  the  circumstances. 

The  sharp  rattle  of  musketry  awakened  me 
early,  announcing  the  opening  of  the  second 
day's  battle.  But  before  I  speak  of  Monday  the 
7th,  I  will  state  why  the  Confederates  ceased  to 
fight  at  half-past  five  P.  M.,  on  Sabbath  evening, 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  161 

when  they  had  another  hour  of  daylight.  They 
had  already  driven  back  the  Federal  forces  more 
than  three  miles  along  their  whole  line,  had 
taken  4000  prisoners,  including  most  of  Gen 
eral  Prentiss's  brigade,  had  captured  about  sev 
enty  pieces  of  artillery,  according  to  their  state 
ment,  had  taken  an  immense  baggage-train, 
with  vast  quantities  of  commissary,  quartermas 
ter's,  and  medical  stores,  and  had  driven  Grant's 
forces  under  the  shelter  of  their  gunboats.  Had 
the  battle  ended  here,  the  victory  would  have 
been  most  triumphant  for  the  Rebels.  Generals 
Bragg  and  Breckenridge  urged  that  the  battle 
should  go  on,  that  Grant's  force  was  terribly 
cut  up  and  demoralized,  that  another  hour 
would  take  them  all  prisoners,  or  drive  them 
into  the  river,  and  that  then  the  transport  fleet 
of  more  than  a  hundred  boats,  would  be  at  the 
control  of  the  Confederates,  who  could  assume 
the  offensive,  and  in  five  days  take  Louisville. 
Other  officers  argued  that  half  of  their  own 
troops  were  disabled  or  scattered,  that  it  would 
risk  the  victory  already  gained  to  push  the  re 
mainder  of  Grant's  forces,  which  now  turned  at 
11 


162  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 


bay,  might  make  a  desperate  stand.  They  esti 
mated  their  own  loss  at  ten  or  twelve  thousand 
men,  and  knew  that  many,  thinking  the  battle 
was  over,  had  left  their  commands  and  were 
loading  themselves  with  plunder,  from  the 
pockets  of  the  dead  and  the  knapsacks  lying 
over  the  field  or  found  in  the  Federal  camps. 
Some  expressed  strong  confidence  that  Price 
and  Yan  Dorn  would^  arrive  during  the  night, 
and  the  victory  would  be  easily  completed  on 
the  morrow. 

While  this  argument  lasted,  the  men  were 
resting,  the  hour  passed  away,  and  night  spread 
her  sable  pall  over  the  scene. 

The  night  was  spent  in  removing  the  wound 
ed,  and  as  much  of  the  captured  stores  and 
artillery  as  possible;  but  horses  and  wagons 
were  scarce,  and  most  of  the  stores  and  some 
wounded  were  left.  The  Confederates  carried 
off  thirty-six  pieces  of  artillery,  which  were  not 
retaken.  Hospitals  were  established  on  the  road 
leading  to  Corinth,  and  most  of  the  wounded  of 
the  first  day  received  every  attention  possible 
under  the  circumstances;  though  the  advance 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  163 

had  been  made  so  suddenly,  that  insufficient 
attention  had  been  given  to  providing  medical 
stores  and  surgical  instruments.  The  scattered 
regiments  were  gathered,  reorganized,  and  put, 
as  far  as  possible,  in  order  for  battle,  and  Beau- 
regard  ordered  a  large  cavalry  force  to  stretch 
themselves  out  in  a  line  a  short  distance  in  rear 
of  the  army,  to  turn  back  all  stragglers,  and 
gave  them  instructions  to  shoot  any  unwounded 
man  retreating.  This  was  rigidly  enforced,  and 
some  who  attempted  to  escape  were  shot.  Or 
ders  were  issued  to  shoot  any  one  found  plun 
dering  the  dead  or  wounded.  Stragglers  were 
forced  into  the  nearest  regiment,  and  every 
thing  done  that  could  be  to  insure  success. 

From  the  foregoing  account  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  following  telegram,  sent  by  Beauregard 
to  Kichrnond,  is  not  far  from  literally  true : 

"  BATTLK-FIELD  OF  SHILOH, 
Via  Corinth  and  Chattanooga,  April  6,  1862. 

"GENERAL  S.  COOPER,  Adjutant-general, — We 
have  this  morning  attacked  the  enemy  in  strong 
position  in  front  of  Pittsburg,  and  after  a  severe 
battle  of  ten  hours,  thanks  to  Almighty  God, 


164  THIKTEEN    MONTHS 

gained  a  complete  victory,  driving  the  enemy 
from  every  position. 

"  The  loss  on  both  sides  is  heavy,  including 
our  commander-in-chief,  General  Albert  Sidney 
Johnson,  who  fell  gallantly  leading  his  troops 
into  the  thickest  of  the  fight. 

"  G.  T.  BEATJREGARD, 

General  commanding." 

The  morning  of  Monday,  April  7th,  was  dark 
and  gloomy ;  the  men  were  weary  and  stiffened 
by  the  exertions  of  the  previous  day,  and  from 
the  chilling  effects  of  the  rain  which  fell  during 
the  night.  The  dead  of  both  armies  lay  strewed 
over  the  field  by  hundreds,  and  many  of  the 
desperately  wounded  were  still  groaning  out 
their  lives  in  fearful  agony.  At  five  A.  M.  I  was 
in  the  saddle,  though  scarcely  able  to  mount, 
from  the  pain  in  knee  and  side ;  and  in  making 
my  way  to  General  Beauregard's  staff,  my  head 
reeled  and  my  heart  grew  sick  at  the  scenes 
through  which  I  passed.  I  record  but  one.  In 
crossing  a  small  ravine,  my  horse  hesitated  to 
step  over  the  stream,  and  I  glanced  down  to 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  166 

detect  the  cause.  The  slight  rain  during  the 
night  had  washed  the  leaves  out  of  a  narrow 
channel  down  the  gully  some  six  inches  wide, 
leaving  the  hard  clay  exposed.  Down  this 
pathway  ran  sluggishly  a  band  of  blood  nearly 
an  inch  thick,  filling  the  channel.  For  a  minute 
I  looked  and  reflected,  how  many  human  lives 
are  flowing  past  me,  and  who  shall  account  for 
such  butchery !  Striking  my  rowels  into  the 
horse  to  escape  from  the  horrible  sight,  he 
plunged  his  foot  into  the  stream  of  blood,  and 
threw  the  already  thickening  mass  in  ropy  folds 
upon  the  dead  leaves  on  the  bank !  The  only 
relief  to  my  feelings  was  the  reflection  that  I 
had  not  shed  one  drop  of  that  blood. 

I  took  my  position  on  General  B.'s  staff  at  six 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  remained  near  him 
most  of  the  day.  The  Federal  forces  had  al 
ready  commenced  the  attack,  and  the  tide  of 
battle  soon  turned.  Grant's  reinforcements  had 
come  up  during  the  night,  but  Beauregard's 
had  not,  and  early  in  the  day  it  became  evident 
that  we  were  fighting  against  fearful  odds. 
Beauregard  sent  forward  3000  of  his  best  troops, 


166  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

held  as  a  reserve  during  tlie  first  day.  They 
did  all  that  so  small  a  number  could  do,  but  it 
was  of  no  avail.  Step  by  step  they  drove  us 
back,  while  every  foot  of  ground  was  yielded 
only  after  a  determined  resistance.  The  battle 
raged  mainly  on  our  left.  General  Breckenridge's 
division  doing  but  little  fighting  this  day,  com 
pared  with  the  first  day.  General  Grant  seemed 
determined  to  outflank  our  left,  and  occupy  the 
road  behind  us,  and  as  the  Confederates  had  not 
men  enough  to  hold  the  camps  they  had  taken, 
and  check  this  flank  movement,  retreat  became 
necessary.  About  nine  A.  M.  I  rode  to  General 
Beauregard  for  orders ;  when  returning,  I  heard 
the  report  that  General  Buell  had  been  killed 
and  his  body  taken  toward  Corinth.  This  re 
port  that  the  Federal  commander,  as  many 
supposed  Buell  to  be,  was  killed,  and  his  body 
taken,  revived  the  flagging  hopes  of  the  Con 
federates.  Of  the  fluctuations  of  the  battle 
from  nine  A.  M.  till  three  p.  M.  I  can  say  but 
little,  as  it  was  mainly  confined  to  our  center 
and  left.  During  this  time  the  Rebel  forces 
had  fallen  back  to  the  position  occupied  by 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  167 

Grant's  advance  Sabbath  morning.  The  loyal 
troops  had  regained  all  the  ground  lost,  and 
whatever  of  artillery  and  stores  the  Rebels  had 
been  unable  to  convey  to  the  rear,  and  were 
now  pressing  us  at  every  point. 

Just  before  the  retreat,  occurred  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  incidents  of  the  battle  ;  few 
more  wonderful  are  on  record.  General  Hind- 
man,  than  whom  no  more  fearless,  dashing,  or 
brave  man  is  found  in  the  Rebel  service,  was 
leading  his  men  in  a  fearful  struggle  for  the 
possession  of  a  favorable  position,  when  a  shell 
from  the  Federal  batteries,  striking  his  horse  in 
the  breast  and  passing  into  his  body,  exploded. 
The  horse  was  blown  to  fragments,  and  the 
rider,  with  his  saddle,  lifted  some  ten  feet  in  the 
air.  His  staff  did  not  doubt  that  their  general 
was  killed,  and  some  one  cried  out,  "General 
Hindman  is  blown  to  pieces."  Scarcely  was 
the  cry  uttered,  when  Hindman  sprang  to  his 
feet  and  shouted,  "  Shut  up  there,  I  am  worth 
two  dead  men  yet.  Get  me  another  horse." 
To  the  amazement  of  every  one,  he  was  but  lit 
tle  bruised.  His  heavy  and  strong  cavalry  sad- 


168  THIRTEEN     MONTHS 

die,  and  probably  the  bursting  of  the  shell 
downward,  saVed  him.  In  a  minute  he  was  on 
a  new  horse  and  rallying  his  men  for  another 
dash.  A  man  of-  less  flexible  and  steel-like 
frame  would  probably  have  been  so  jarred  and 
stunned  by  the  shock  as  to  be  unable  to  rise ; 
he,  though  covered  with  blood  and  dust,  kept 
his  saddle  during  the  remainder  of  the  day,  and 
performed  prodigies  of  valor.  But  no  heroism 
of  officers  or  men  could  avail  to  stay  the  ad 
vance  of  the  Federal  troops. 

At  three  o'clock  p.  M.  the  Confederates  decided 
on  a  retreat  to  Corinth ;  and  General  Brecken- 
ridge,  strengthened  by  three  regiments  of  cav 
alry, — Forrest's,  Adams',  and  the  Texas  Rangers, 
raising  his  effective  force  to  12,000  men, — re 
ceived  orders  to  protect  the  rear.  By  four  p.  M. 
the  Confederates  were  in  full  retreat.  The  main 
body  of  the  army  passed  silently  and  swiftly 
along  the  road  toward  Corinth,  our  division 
bringing  up  the  rear,  determined  to  make  a  des 
perate  stand  if  pursued.  At  this  time  the  Union 
forces  might  have  closed  in  upon  our  retreating 
columns  and  cut  off  Breckenridge's  division, 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  169 

and  perhaps  captured  it.  A  Federal  battery 
threw  some  shells,  as  a  feeler,  across  the  road 
on  which  we  were  retreating,  between  our  divi 
sion  and  the  main  body,  but  no  reply  was  made 
to  them,  as  this  would  have  betrayed  our  posi 
tion.  "We  passed  on  with  little  opposition  or 
loss,  and  by  five  o'clock  had  reached  a  point  one 
and  a  half  miles  nearer  Corinth  than  the  point 
of  attack  Sabbath  morning. 

Up  to  this  time  the  pursuit  seemed  feeble, 
and  the  Confederates  were  surprised  that  the 
victorious  Federals  made  no  more  of  their  ad 
vantage.  Nor  is  it  yet  understood  why  the 
pursuit  was  not  pressed.  A  rapid  and  persist 
ent  pursuit  would  have  created  a  complete  rout 
of  the  now  broken,  weary,  and  dispirited  Rebels. 
Two  hours  more  of  such  fighting  as  Bu ell's 
fresh  men  could  have  made,  would  have  demor 
alized  and  destroyed  Beauregard's  army.  For 
some  reason  this  was  not  done,  and  night  closed 
the  battle. 

About  five  o'clock  I  requested  permission  to 
ride  on  toward  Corinth,  as  I  wras  faint  and 
weary,  and,  from  the  pain  in  my  side  and  knee, 


170  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

would  not  be  able  to  keep  the  saddle  much 
longer.  This  was  granted,  and  I  made  a  detour 
from  the  road  on  which  the  army  was  retreating, 
that  I  might  travel  faster  and  get  ahead  of  the 
main  body.  In  this  ride  of  twelve  miles  along 
side  of  the  routed  army,  I  saw  more  of  human 
agony  and  woe  than  I  trust  I  will  ever  again  be 
called  on  to  witness.  The  retreating  host  wound 
along  a  narrow  and  almost  impassable  road, 
extending  some  seven  or  eight  miles  in  length. 
Here  was  a  long  line  of  wagons  loaded  with 
wounded,  piled  in  like  bags  of  grain,  groaning 
and  cursing,  while  the  mules  plunged  on  in 
mud  and  water  belly-deep,  the  water  sometimes 
coming  into  the  wagons.  Next  came  a  strag 
gling  regiment  of  infantry  pressing  on  past  the 
train  of  wagons,  then  a  stretcher  borne  upon 
the  shoulders  of  four  men,  carrying  a  wounded 
officer,  then  soldiers  staggering  along,  with  an 
arm  broken  and  hanging  down,  or  other  fearful 
wounds  which  were  enough  to  destroy  life. 
And  to  add  to  the  horrors  of  the  scene,  the 
elements  of  heaven  marshaled  their  forces, — a 
fitting  accompaniment  of  the  tempest  of  human 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  171 

desolation  and  passion  which  was  raging.  A 
cold,  drizzling  rain  commenced  about  nightfall, 
and  soon  came  harder  and  faster,  then  turned  to 
pitiless  blinding  hail.  This  storm  raged  with 
unrelenting  violence  for  three  hours.  I  passed 
long  wagon  trains  filled  with  wounded  and 
dying  soldiers,  without  even  a  blanket  to  shield 
them  from  the  driving  sleet  and  hail,  which  fell 
in  stones  as  large  as  partridge  eggs,  until  it  lay 
on  the  ground  two  inches  deep. 

Some  three  hundred  men  died  during  that 
awful  retreat,  and  their  bodies  were  thrown  out 
to  make  room  for  others  who,  although  wound 
ed,  had  struggled  on  through  the  storm,  hoping 
to  find  shelter,  rest,  and  medical  care. 

By  eight  o'clock  at  night  I  had  passed  the 
whole  retreating  column,  and  was  now  in  ad 
vance,  hoping  to  reach  Corinth,  still  four  miles 
ahead.  But  my  powers  of  endurance,  though 
remarkable,  were  exhausted,  and  I  dismounted 
at  a  deserted  cabin  by  the  wayside,  scarce  able 
to  drag  myself  to  the  doorway.  Here  a  surgeon 
was  tending  some  wounded  men  who  had  been 
sent  off  the  field  at  an  early  hour  of  the  first 


172  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

day.  To  his  question,  "Are  you  wounded ?"  I 
replied  that  my  wound  was  slight,  and  that 
I  needed  refreshment  and  sleep  more  than  sur 
gical  aid.  Procuring  two  hard  crackers  and  a 
cup  of  rye  coffee,  I  made  a  better  meal  than  I 
had  eaten  in  three  days,  and  then  lay  down  in 
a  vacant  room  and  slept. 

When  I  awoke  it  was  broad  daylight,  and 
the  room  was  crowded  full  of  wounded  and 
dying  men,  so  thickly  packed  that  I  could 
hardly  stir.  I  was  not  in  the  same  place  where 
I  had  lain  down ;  but  of  my  change  of  place,  and 
of  the  dreadful  scenes  which  had  occurred  dur 
ing  the  night,  I  had  not'  the  slightest  knowl 
edge. 

As  I  became  fully  awake  and  sat  up,  the 
surgeon  turned  to  me,  and  said,  "Well,  you 
are  alive  at  last.  I  thought  nothing  but  an 
earthquake  would  wake  you.  We  have  moved 
you  about  like  a  log,  and  you  never  groaned  or 
showed  any  signs  of  life.  Men  have  trampled 
on  you,  dying  men  have  groaned  all  around 
you,  and  yet  you  slept  as  soundly  as  a  babe  in 
its  cradle.  Where  is  your  wound?" 


IN    THE    KEBEL    ARMY.  173 

How  I  endured  the  horrors  of  that  night, 
rather  how  I  was  entirely  unconscious  of  them 
and  slept  refreshingly  through  them,  is  to  me  a 
mystery.  But  so  it  was,  and  it  seemed  to  be 
the  turning-point  of  my  knee-wound,  as  it  has 
never  troubled  me  so  much  since. 

I  now  rode  on  to  Corinth,  where  I  changed 
clothes,  had  a  bath  and  breakfast,  and  found  a 
hospital  and  a  surgeon.  He  decided  that  I  was 
unfit  for  duty,  and  must  take  my  place  among 
the  invalids.  After  dressing  my  wounds  he 
advised  rest.  I  slept  again  for  six  hours,  and 
woke  in  the  afternoon  almost  a  well  man,  as  I 
thought. 

Thus  ended  my  courier  service,  and  I  then 
resolved  that  no  earthly  power  should  ever 
force  me  into  another  battle  against  the  Gov 
ernment  under  which  I  was  born ;  and  I  have 
kept  my  resolution. 

General  Beauregard's  official  dispatch  of  the 
second  day's  battle,  given  below,  was  a  very 
neat  attempt  to  cover  up  defeat.  It  expresses 
the  general  opinion  of  the  people  in  the  South 
as  to  the  battle  of  Pittsburg  Landing. 


174  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

"  CORINTH,  Tuesday,  April  8,  1862. 

"  To  the  SECRETARY  OF  WAR,  Richmond : 

"  We  have  gained  a  great  and  glorious  vic 
tory.  Eight  to  ten  thousand  prisoners,  and 
thirty-six  pieces  of  cannon.  Buell  reinforced 
Grant,  and  we  retired  to  our  intrenchments  at 
Corinth,  which  we  can  hold.  Loss  heavy  on 

both  sides. 

"  BEATTREOARD." 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  175 

CHAPTER  VI. 

HOSPITAL   SERVICE. 

Wounded  arriving. — Care  of  my  own  Men. — Appointment  as 
Assistant-surgeon. — Discharge  from  Rebel  Army. — Dreadful 
Scenes. — Sickness. — Nurses. — Stoicism. — Military  Murder  of  a 
Deserter. — No  Pay. — Go  to  Mobile. — Spirit  of  the  People  on 
the  Way. — Met  at  Depot.— No  Means  of  Escape.— The  Stagnant 
City.— Surveillance  of  the  Press.— Forced  Charity.— In  charge 
of  a  Hospital. — Selma. — Kindness  of  Ladies. — Piano. — Artesian 
Wells. — Model  Hospital. — Furlough  to  Richmond. — Rigid  Dis 
cipline. —  Disappointment. — Bitter  Thoughts. —  Crinoline  and 
Volunteering. — North  asleep. 

THE  wounded  were  now  arriving  in  large  num 
bers,  but  so  exhausted  by  the  loss  of  blood,  the 
jolting  in  rough  wagons,  and  the  exposure  of 
the  fearful  night,  that  many  were  too  far  gone 
for  relief. 

As  I  had,  while  at  school  in  New  York,  fre 
quented  the  hospitals,  and  also  attended  two 
courses  of  medical  lectures,  I  had  gained  a  little 
knowledge  of  wounds  and  their  treatment.  This 
fact,  arid  a  special  fondness  if  not  aptitude  for 
that  study,  decided  my  future  course. 

My  first  care  was  for  the  members  of  the 


176  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

company  I  had  commanded  during  the  long 
retreat  from  Nashville ;  hence  I  went  out  to 
seek  them.  Meeting  them  a  short  distance  from 
Corinth,  I  had  them  taken  to  a  hospital  estab 
lished  in  an  unfinished  brick  church  in  the 
north  end  of  the  town,  and  here  I  remained, 
giving  them  all  possible  care  and  attention. 

Next  morning,  Dr.  J.  C.  Nott,  Surgeon-gen 
eral  of  the  Western  division  of  the  Confederate 
service,  appointed  me  as  assistant-surgeon  on 
his  staff.  The  scarcity  of  surgeons  to  meet  the 
immense  demand,  and,  perhaps,  a  little  skill 
shown  in  dressing  wounds,  secured  me  this  ap 
pointment.  On  the  following  Saturday,  April 
12,  1862,  I  obtained  an  honorable  discharge 
from  the  army,  on  account  of  my  wounds,  but 
retained  my  position  of  assistant-surgeon,  as  a 
civilian  appointment. 

During  the  ten  days  I  remained  at  Corinth 
the  town  was  a  perfect  aceldama,  though  all 
was  done  that  could  be  to  save  life  and  alleviate 
suffering.  Many  of  the  best  surgeons  in  the 
South  arrived  in  time  to  render  valuable  assist 
ance  to  the  army  surgeons  in  their  laborious 


IX    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  177 

duties.  Among  these  may  be  named  Snrrell 
of  Virginia,  Hargis  and  Baldwin  of  Mississippi, 
Richardson  of  New  Orleans,  La  Fressne  of  Ala 
bama,  with  many  others 'of  high  reputation. 
During  the  week  following  the  battle  the 
wounded  were  brought  in  by  hundreds,  and 
the  surgeons  were  overtasked.  Above  5000 
wounded  men,  demanding  instant  and  constant 
attendance,  made  a  call  too  great  to  be  met  suc 
cessfully.  A  much  larger  proportion  of  ampu 
tations  was  performed  than  would  have  been 
necessary  if  the  wounds  could  have  received 
earlier  attention.  On  account  of  exposures, 
many  wounds  were  gangrenous  when  the  pa 
tients  reached  the  hospital.  In  these  cases  de 
lay  was  fatal,  and  an  operation  almost  equally 
so,  as  tetanus  often  followed  speedily.  Where 
amputation  was  performed,  eight  out  of  ten 
died.  The  deaths  in  Corinth  averaged  fifty  per 
day  for  a  week  after  the  battle.  While  the  sur 
geons,  as  a  body,  did  their  duty  nobly,  there  were 
some  young  men,  apparently  just  out  of  college, 
who  performed  difficult  operations  with  the  as 
surance  and  assumed  skill  of  practiced  surgeons, 

12 


178  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

and  with  little  regard  for  human  life  or  linib. 
In  a  few  days  erysipelas  broke  out,  and  numbers 
died  of  it.  Pneumonia,  typhoid  fever,  and  mea 
sles  followed,  and  C<3rinth  was  one  entire  hos 
pital.  As  soon  as  possible,  the  wounded  who 
could  be  moved  were  sent  off  to  Columbus, 
Okalona,  Lauderdale  Springs,  -and  elsewhere, 
and  some  relief  was  thus  obtained.  We  were 
also  comforted  by  the  arrival  of  a  corps  of 
nurses.  Their  presence  acted  like  a  charm. 
Order  emerged  from  chaos,  and  in  a  few  hours 
all  looked  cleaner  and  really  felt  better,  from 
the  skill  and  industry  of  a  few  devoted  women. 
A  pleasant  instance  of  the  restraint  of  woman's 
presence  upon  the  roughest  natures  occurred  in 
the  hospital  I  was  attending.  A  stalwart  back 
woodsman  was  suffering  from  a  broken  arm, 
and  had  been  venting  his  spleen  upon  the  doc 
tors  and  male  nurses  by  continued  profanity ; 
but  when  one  of  his  fellow -sufferers  uttered  an 
oath,  while  the  "  Sisters"  were  near  ministering 
to  the  comfort  of  the  wounded,  he  sharply  re 
proved  him,  demanding — "  Have  you  no  more 
manners  than  to  swear  in  the  presence  of  la- 


IN    THE    KEBEL    ARMY.  179 

dies  ?"  All  honor  to  these  devoted  Sisters,  who, 
fearless  of  danger  and  disease,  sacrificed  every 
personal  comfort  to  alleviate  the  sufferings  of 
the  sick  and  wounded  after  this  terrible  battle. 

An  instance  of  most  heroic  endurance,  if  not 
of  fool-hardy  stoicism,  such  as  has  few  parallels 
in  history,  occurred  during  the  contest,  which 
deserves  mention.  Brigadier-general  Gladden, 
of  South  Carolina,  who  was  in  General  Bragg's 
command,  had  his  left  arm  shattered  by  a  ball, 
on  the  first  day  of  the  fight.  Amputation  was 
performed  hastily  by  his  staff-surgeon  on  the 
field ;  and  then,  instead  of  being  taken  to  the 
rear  for  quiet  and  nursing,  he  mounted  his  horse, 
against  the  most  earnest  remonstrances  of  all  his 
staff,  and  continued  to  command.  On  Monday, 
he  was  again  in  the  saddle,  and  kept  it  during 
the  day ;  on  Tuesday,  he  rode  on  horseback  to 
Corinth,  twenty  miles  from  the  scene  of  action, 
and  continued  to  discharge  the  duties  of  an 
officer.  On  Wednesday,  a  second  amputation, 
near  the  shoulder,  was  necessary,  when  General 
Bragg  sent  an  aid  to  ask  if  he  would  not  be  re 
lieved  of  his  command.  To  which  he  replied, 


180  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

"  Give  General  Bragg  my  compliments,  and 
say  that  General  Gladden  will  only  give  up  his 
command  to  go  into  his  coffin."  Against  the 
remonstrances  of  personal  friends,  and  the  posi 
tive  injunctions  of  the  surgeons,  he  persisted  in 
sitting  up  in  his  chair,  receiving  dispatches  and 
giving  directions,  till  Wednesday  afternoon, 
when  lockjaw  seized  him,  and  he  died  in  a  few 
moments.  A  sad  end  was  this,  for  a  man  pos 
sessing  many  of  the  noblest  and  most  exalted 
characteristics. 

Two  days  thereafter,  on  the  llth  of  April, 
there  was  perpetrated  one  of  the  most  diabolical 
murders  ever  sanctioned  by  the  forms  of  law. 
It  illustrates  the  atrocious  wickedness  of  the 
rebellion,  and  the  peril  of  sympathy  with  the 
Union  cause  in  the  South.  Patriotism  here 
wins  applause,  there  a  culprit's  doom.  The 
facts  were  these  :  When  the  Rebels  were  raising 
a  force  in  Eastern  Tennessee,  two  brothers  by 
the  name  of  Rowland  volunteered ;  a  younger 
brother,  William  H.  Rowland,  was  a  Union 
man,  and  refusing  to  enlist  was  seized  and 
forced  into  the  army.  He  constantly  protested 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  181 

against  his  impressment,  but  without  avail.  He 
then  warned  them  that  he  would  desert  the  first 
opportunity,  as  he  would  not  fight  against  the 
cause  of  right  and  good  government.  They 
were  inexorable,  and  he  was  torn  from  his 
family  and  hurried  to  the  field.  At  th.e  battle 
of  Fort  Donelson,  Rowland  escaped  from  his 
captors  in  the  second  day's  action,  and  imme 
diately  joined  the  loyal  army.  Though  now  to 
fight  against  his  own  brothers,  he  felt  that  he 
was  in  a  righteous  cause,  and  contending  for  a 
worthy  end. 

In  the  battle  of  Pittsburg  Landing  he  was 
taken  prisoner  by  the  very  regiment  to  which 
he  had  formerly  belonged.  This  sealed  his  fate. 
On  the  way  to  Corinth  several  of  his  old  com 
rades,  among  them  his  two  brothers,  attempted 
to  kill  him,  one  of  them  nearly  running  him 
through  with  a  bayonet.  He  was,  however, 
rescued  from  this  peril  by  the  guard.  Three 
days  after  the  retreating  army  had  reached 
Corinth,  General  Hardee,  in  whose  division 
was  the  regiment  claiming  this  man  as  a 
deserter,  gave  orders  to-  have  Rowland  exe- 


182  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

cuted.  The  general,  I  hope  from  some  mis 
givings  of  conscience,  was  unwilling  to  witness 
the  execution  of  his  own  order,  and  detailed 
General  Claibourne  to  carry  out  the  sentence. 
About  four  o'clock  p.  M.,  some  10,000  Tennessee 
troops  were  drawn  up  in  two  parallel  lines, 
facing  inward,  three  hundred  yards  apart.  The 
doomed  man,  surrounded  by  the  guard,  de 
tailed  from  his  own  former  regiment  to  shoot 
him,  marched  with  a  firm  step  into  the  middle 
of  the  space  between  the  two  lines  of  troops. 
Here  his  grave  had  been  already  dug,  and  a 
black  pine  coffin  lay  beside  it.  No  minister  of 
religion  offered  to  direct  his  thoughts  to  a 
gracious  Saviour.  I  fear  he  was  poorly  pre 
pared  for  the  eternity  upon  which  he  was  just 
entering. 

The  sentence  was  read,  and  he  was  asked  if 
he  had  any  thing  to  say  why  it  should  not  be 
executed.  He  spoke  in  a  firm,  decided  tone,  in 
a  voice  which  could  be  heard  by  many  hun 
dreds,  and  nearly  in  the  following  words. 
"Fellow-soldiers,  Tennesseans,  I  was  forced 
into  Southern  service  against  my  will  and 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  183 

against  my  conscience.  I  told  them  I  would 
desert  the  first  chance  I  found,  and  I  did  it.  I 
•was  always  a  Union  man  and  never  denied  it, 
and  I  joined  the  Union  army  to  do  all  the 
damage  I  could  to  the  Confederates.  I  believe 
the  Union  cause  is  right  and  will  triumph. 
You  can  kill  me  but  once,  and  I  am  not  afraid 
to  die  in  a  good  cause.  My  only  request  is, 
that  you  let  my  wife  and  family  know  that  I 
died  like  a  man  in  supporting  my  principles. 
My  brothers  there  would  shoot  me  if  they  had 
a  chance,  but  I  forgive  them.  Now  shoot  me 
through  the  heart,  that  I  may  die  instantly." 

Such  were  his  fearless,  even  defiant  words, 
and  I  recall  them  with  the  distinctness  of  a 
present  thought,  for  it  needed  little  imagination 
to  place  myself  in  his  stead.  Had  I  succeeded 
in  escaping  at  any  former  period  and  been 
retaken,  this  would  have  been  my  fate.  While 
I  saw  the  hazard,  I  was  none  the  less  resolved 
to  make  the  attempt,  and  soon. 

f  After  Rowland  had  ceased  to  speak,  he  took 
off  hat,  coat,  and  necktie,  and  laying  his  hand 
on  his  heart,  he  said,  "  Aim  here."  But  the 


184:  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

sergeant  of  the  guard  advanced  to  tie  his  hands 
and  blindfold  him.  He  asked  the  privilege  of 
standing  untied ;  the  request  was  not  granted. 
His  eyes  were  then  bandaged,  he  kneeled  upon 
his  coffin,  and  engaged  in  prayer  for  several 
minutes,  and  then  said  he  was  ready.  The 
lieutenant  of  the  guard  then  gave  the  word, 
"  Fire,"  and  twenty-four  muskets,  half  of  them 
loaded  with  ball,  were  discharged.  When  the 
smoke  lifted,  the  body  had  fallen  backward, 
and  was  still.  Several  balls  had  passed  through 
his  head,  and  some  through  his  heart.  His 
body  was  tumbled  into  the  rough  pine  box,  and 
buried  by  the  men  that  shot  him.  Such  was 
the  fate  of  a  Tennessee  patriot.  His  blood  will 
be  required  of  those  who  instigated  the  Rebel 
lion.  General  Harde*e  said  afterward,  when 
the  scene  was  described  to  him,  "I  think  the 
man  was  half  crazy  from  brooding  over  his 
fancied  wrongs.  His  execution  was  necessary 
to  prevent  others  from  deserting,  but  no  sum  of 
money  could  have  induced  me  to  witness  it*" 
General,  were  they  "  fancied  wrongs  ?" 

This  scene  strengthened  my  purpose  to  dis- 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  185 

connect  myself  from  the  South  as  soon  as  I 
could  get  my  pay,  which  was  now  many 
months  in  arrears.  I  could  not  travel  many 
hundreds  of  miles  without  means,  and  in  a 
direction  to  excite  suspicion  in  the  mind  of  every 
man  I  might  meet.  But  the  paymaster  was  not 
in  funds ;  and  while  he  approved  and  indorsed 
my  bills,  he  said  I  must  go  to  Eichmond  to 
receive  the  money.  I  had  not  means  to  go  to 
Richmond.  My  horses,  of  which  I  owned  two, 
I  was  determined  to  keep,  to  aid  me  off;  hence 
I  was  forced  to  continue  in  my  position  as 
assistant-surgeon  for  a  time. 

On  the  17th  of  April,  the  surgeon-general  to 
whose  staff  I  was  attached  left  Corinth  for 
Mobile,  nearly  three  hundred  miles  distant, 
with  a  train  conveying  about  forty  wounded 
men.  The  journey  was  tedious,  and  to  the 
wounded,  painful,  as  they  occupied  box-cars 
without  springs,  and  the  weather  was  exceed 
ingly  warm.  A  few  of  the  men  were  left  under 
the  care  of  physicians  by  the  way,  being  unable 
to  endure  the  motion  of  the  cars.  We  proceed 
ed  leisurely  from  station  to  station,  stopping 


186  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

long  enough  to  receive  provisions  for  all  on 
board  from  the  citizens  on  the  line  of  the  road, 
which  were  freely  and  gratuitously  furnished. 
Wherever  we  stopped  long  enough  to  give  the 
people  time  to  assemble,  crowds  came  to  offer 
relief, — ladies  with  flowers,  jellies,  and  cakes 
for  the  poor  fellows,  and  men  with  the  more 
substantial  provisions.  One  rich  old  gentleman 

4 

at  Lauderdale  Springs,  named  Martin,  sent  in  a 
wagon  loaded  with  stores.  This  exuberance  of 
supplies  thus  voluntarily  furnished,  is  an  index 
of  the  feeling  of  the  masses  in  the  South  as  to 
the  cause  in  which  they  have  embarked  their 
all. 

At  the  end  of  two  and  a  half  days  we  reached 
Mobile,  and  were  met  at  the  depot  by  a  large 
company  of  ladies  with  carriages,  to  take  the 
wounded  men  to  a  spacious  and  airy  hospital, 
prepared  with  every  necessary  and  comfort 
which  could  be  devised.  A  large  number  of 
servants  were  in  attendance,  to  carry  those  too 
severely  wounded  to  ride  in  the  carriages ;  and 
whatever  water,  and  clean  suits,  and  food,  and 
smiles,  and  sympathy,  and  Christian  conversa- 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  187 

tion,  and  religious  books,  could  do  for  their 
comfort,  was  done. 

After  seeing  the  men  nicely  cared  for,  and 
resting,  I  set  myself  to  investigations  as  to  the 
possibility  of  escape  from  Mobile  out  to  the 
blockading  fleet,  in  case  I  could  not  get  my  pay 
to  go  home  by  land.  I  met  no  cheering  facts 
in  this  search.  There  were  about  4000  troops 
in  and  around  the  city.  Fort  Morgan  was 
strongly  guarded,  and  egress  was  difficult,  while 
the  Union  fleet  lay  far  out.  I  gave  this  up,  as 
not  feasible  for  the  present,  at  least. 

Mobile  was  stagnant  commercially,  business 
at  a  stand-still,  many  stores  closed,  and  all 
looked  gloomy.  The  arrival  from  Havana  of  a 
vessel  which  had  eluded  the  blockading  fleet, 
loaded  with  coffee,  cigars,  &c.,  produced  a  tem 
porary  and  feeble  excitement.  But  so  frequent 
were  these  arrivals  that  the  novelty  had  worn 
off:  though  in  this  fact  I  see  no  ground  for  re 
proaching  either  the  heads  of  department  at 
Washington  or  the  commanders  of  the  block 
ading  squadron  at  that  point.  The  whole  coast 
is  indented  with  bays,  and  interior  lines  of  navi- 


188  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

gable  water  are  numerous  ;  so  that  nothing  but 
a  cordon  of  ships,  in  close  proximity  along  the 
whole  coast,  could  entirely  forbid  ingress  and 
egress. 

Another  instance  of  the  rigid  surveillance  of 
the  press  maintained  in  the  Confederate  States 
is  suggested  by  this  incident.  The  city  papers 
of  Mobile  made  no  mention  of  this  arrival, 
though  all  knew  it.  Early  in  the  year.  South 
ern  papers  boasted  of  the  number  of  ships  which 
accomplished  the  feat,  giving  names,  places,  and 
cargoes ;  but  months  ago  this  was  forbidden, 
and  wisely  for  their  interests.  Recently  I  have 
seen  no  mention  in  Southern  papers  of  the  im 
portation  of  cannon  or  any  thing  else,  except  in 
purposely  blind  phrase  as  to  time  and  place. 

I  returned  to  the  hospital,  feeling  that  my 
destinies  were  wrapped  up  with  it  for  a  while 
yet.  Here  I  witnessed  an  illustration  of  the 
power  of  popular  enthusiasm  worthy  of  men 
tion.  A  miserly  old  gentleman,  who  had  never 
been  known,  it  was  said,  to  do  a  generous  act, 
and  who  had  thrown  off  all  appeals  for  aid  to 
ordinary  benevolent  causes  with  an  imperative 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  189 

negative,  was  so  overcome  by  the  popular 
breeze  iii  favor  of  the  soldiers,  that  he  came 
into  the  hospital  with  a  roll  of  bank-bills  in  his 
hand,  and  passing  from  cot  to  cot  gave  each 
wounded  man  a  five-dollar  bill,  repeating,  with 
a  spasmodic  jerk  of  his  head  and  a  forced  smile, 
"  Make  yourself  comfortable ;  make  yourself 
comfortable,  my  good  fellow."  I  am  afraid  he, 
poor  fellow,  did  not  feel  very  comfortable,  as  his 
money  was  screwed  out  of  him  by  the  power  of 
public  opinion. 

The  Surgeon-general,  a  man  as  noble  in  pri 
vate  life  as  distinguished  in  his  profession,  asked 
me  to  take  charge  of  a  hospital  at  Selma,  one 
hundred  and  eighty  miles  up  the  Alabama  river, 
under  the  direction  of  Dr.  W.  P.  Eeese,  post- 
surgeon  ;  and  on  the  21st  of  April  I  left  for 
that  place,  with  twenty-three  wounded  men 
under  my  care.  We  reached  the  town  the  next 
day,  my  men  improved  by  the  river  transit. 
Here  we  wrere  again  met  by  carriages,  in  readi 
ness  to  convey  the  wounded  to  a  hospital,  fitted 
up  in  a  large  Female  Seminary  building,  ad 
mirably  adapted  for  the  purpose,  with  spacious 


190  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

rooms,  high  ceilings,  and  well  ventilated.  One 
wing  of  this  building,  containing  a  large  music- 
room,  was  appropriated  to  my  charge.  The  sick 
men  of  a  regiment  organizing  there,  occupied 
another  part  of  the  building.  The  school,  like 
so  many  others  in  the  South,  was  scattered  by 
the  war. 

Here  again  we  were  burdened  with  kindness 
from  the  ladies.  Wines,  jellies,  strawberries, 
cakes,  flowers,  were  always  abundant,  served  by 
beautiful  women,  with  the  most  bewitching 
smiles.  I  had  been  so  long  cut  off  from  refined 
female  society,  that  I  appreciated  most  pro 
foundly  their  kind  attentions.  So  intent  were 
they  upon  contributing  to  the  comfort  of  the 
men  who  had  been  wounded  in  protecting  their 
homes,  as  they  regarded  it,  that  they  brought  a 
piano  into  my  ward,  and  the  young  ladies  vied 
with  each  other  in  delectating  us  with  the  Mar 
seillaise,  Dixie,  and  like  patriotic  songs,  inter 
spersing  occasionally  something  about  moon 
light  walks  in  Southern  bowers,  &c.,  which  my 
modesty  would  not  allow  me  to  suppose  had 
any  reference  to  the  tall  young  surgeon. 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  191 

Selma  is  a  beautiful  town  of  three  or  four 
thousand  inhabitants,  situated  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  Alabama  river,  on  a  level  plateau,  stretch 
ing  off  from  the  bank,  which  rises  from  forty  to 
fifty  feet  above  the  river  by  a  steep  ascent.  A 
distinguishing  feature  of  the  place  is  its  Arte 
sian  wells,  said  to  be  equal  to  any  in  the  world. 
In  the  main  street  of  the  town,  at  the  crossing 
of  other  streets,  are  reservoirs,  five  in  number, 
which  receive  the  water  thrown  up  from  a  depth 
of  many  hundred  feet,  and  in  quantity  far  be 
yond  the  demands  of  the  inhabitants.  The 
water  is  slightly  impregnated  with  mineral 
qualities,  is  pleasant  to  the  taste,  and  regarded 
as  medicinal.  The  people  of  Selma  are  gener 
ally  highly  intelligent  and  refined,  and  no  more 
pleasant  acquaintances  did  I  form  in  the  South 
than  here.  Their  zeal  for  the  Rebel  cause  was 
up  to  fever  heat,  and  their  benevolence  for  its 
soldiers  without  stint.  The  provisions  for  the 
hospital  were  furnished  gratuitously  by  a  com 
mittee  of  the  Relief  Association,  and  they  ap 
peared  grieved  that  we  made  no  more  demands 
upon  them.  That  my  hospital  was  a  model  of 


192  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

neatness  and  perfection  in  its  line,  was  attested 
by  a  report  of  Adj  ntant-general  Cooper,  who 
visited  incognito  the  hospitals  through  the  South 
while  I  was  at  Selrna.  He  gave  it  the  prefer 
ence  over  all  he  had  seen,  in  a  publication  which 
appeared  shortly  after  this  time  in  the  Southern 
papers. 

At  the  end  of  three  weeks  of  attendance  here, 
I  obtained  a  furlough  for  ten  days,  that  I  might 
go  to  Richmond  to  secure  my  pay.  Securing 
government  transportation,  I  reached  Richmond 
on  the  15 tli  of  May,  exceedingly  anxious  to  find 
the  quartermaster  in  an  amiable  mood  and  in 
funds ;  for  upon  my  success  here  depended  my 
hopes  of  a  speedy  escape.  Money  will  often 
accomplish  what  daring  would  not.  But  here  I 
was  disappointed — at  least  partially.  I  secured 
but  one-fifth  of  my  claim,  which  was  admitted 
without  question ;  but  I  was  told  that  the  quar 
termaster  of  the  "Western  division  had  funds, 
and  I  must  get  the  remainder  there.  My  re 
monstrances  availed  nothing,  and  I  left  the 
office  in  no  amiable  mood. 

I  now  determined  to  avenge  myself  upon  a 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  103 

faithless  government,  by  acquiring  all  possible 
information  of  the  status  of  the  Rebel  army  in 
and  about  Richmond,  which  might  be  of  use  to 
me  and  my  country.  In  this  I  also  failed,  from 
the  exceeding,  arid,  I  must  say,  wise  vigilance 
of  the  authorities.  My  pass  to  enter  the  city 
allowed  nothing  further — I  must  procure  one  to 
remain  in  the  city,  and  this  was  called  for  at 
almost  every  street  corner ;  and  then  another  to 
leave  the  city,  and  only  in  one  direction. 

Although  I  appeared  in  the  dress  of  an  assist 
ant-surgeon,  with  the  M.  S.  upon  my  cap,  I  could 
gain  no  access  to  the  army  outside  of  the  city, 
nor  make  any  headway  in  my  tour  of  observa 
tion  ;  and  as  they  charged  me  five  dollars  per 
day  at  the  Ballard  House,  I  must  soon  leave,  or 
be  swamped.  I  had  not  been  so  completely 
foiled  in  my  plans  hitherto. 

I  left  Richmond  for  Selma  the  20th  of  May, 
reflecting  bitterly  upon  the  character  of  a  rebel 
lion  which,  commenced  in  fraud,  was  perpet 
uating  itself  by  forcing  its  enemies  to  fight  their 
own  friends,  and  then  refused  to  pay  them  the 
stipulated  price  of  their  enforced  service.  The 

18 


194  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

longer  I  reflected,  the  more  fully  was  I  convinced 
that  I  never  would  receive  my  pay.  The  con 
scription  act,  which  took  effect  the  16th  of  May, 
was  being  enforced  with  a  sweeping  and  search 
ing  universality.  If  I  returned  to  Corinth  to 
seek  the  quartermaster  there,  the  payment  would 
be  deferred,  from  one  excuse  or  another,  until  I 
should  be  forced  into  the  service  again.  The 
thought  that  the  Rebel  authorities  were  break 
ing  their  pledges  to  pay  me,  that  they  might 
get  their  hated  coils  around  me  once  more,  from 
which  I  had  but  partially  extricated  myself,  al 
most  maddened  me.  I  knew,  moreover,  that  I 
could  not  long  remain  in  Selma,  in  my  present 
situation.  The  men  were  all  recovering,  except 
one  poor  fellow,  who  soon  passed  beyond  the 
reach  of  earthly  mutilations,  and  no  new  ship 
ments  of  wounded  were  coming  on.  And  the 
force  of  public  opinion  in  Selma  was  such,  that 
no  man  able  to  fight  could  remain  there.  The 
unmarried  ladies  were  so  patriotic,'  that  every 
able-bodied  young  man  was  constrained  to  en 
list.  Some  months  previous  to  this,  a  gentleman 
was  known  to  be  engaged  for  an  early  marriage, 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  195 

and  hence  declined  to  volunteer.  When  his  be 
trothed,  a  charming  girl  and  a  devoted  lover, 
heard  of  his  refusal,  she  sent  him,  by  the  hand 
of  a  slave,  a  package  inclosing  a  note.  The 
package  contained  a  lady's  skirt  and  crinoline, 
and  the  note  these  terse  words :  "  Wear  these, 
or  volunteer."  He  volunteered. 

When  will  the  North  wake  up  to  a  true  and 
manly  patriotism  in  the  defence  of  their  national 
life,  now  threatened  by  the  tiger-grasp  of  this 
atrocious  Eebellion  ?  Hundreds  upon  hundreds 
of  young  men  I  see  in  stores  and  shops,  doing 
work  that  women  could  do  quite  as  well ;  and 
large  numbers  of  older  men  who  have  grown 
wealthy  under  the  protection  of  our  benign  gov 
ernment,  are  idly  grieving  over  the  taxation 
which  the  war  imposes,  and  meanly  asking  if  it 
will  not  soon  end,  that  their  coffers  may  become 
plethoric  of  gold  ;  while  the  question  is  still  un 
settled  whether  the  Rebellion  shall  sweep  them 
and  their  all  into  the  vortex  of  ruin  and  anar 
chy.  The  North  is  asleep !  and  it  will  become 
the  sleep  of  death,  national  death,  if  a  new  spirit 
be  not  speedily  awaked  ! 


196  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 


CHAPTER  VII. 

MY  ESCAPE. 

Obstacles  in  the  Way  of  Escape. — Farewell  to  Selma. — Gold  ver 
sus  Confederate  Scrip. — An  unnamed  Friend. — Conscription 
Act. —  Swearing  in  a  Eegiment. —  Soldier  shot. —  Chattanooga 
reached. — Danger  of  Kecognition. — Doff  the  Military. — Trans 
formation. —  A  Bivouac. —  A  Ketirecl  Ferryman.  —  Conscience 
versus  Gold. — Casuistry. — Embarkation  and  Voyage. — Pistols 
and  Persuasion. — An  unwilling  Pilot. — A  Night-reverie. — My 
Companion's  Pisgah. — Selim. — Secession  a  destructive  Princi 
ple. — Practical  Illustration. — A  third  Night  in  the  Rocks. — 
Home  and  the  Welcome. — The  Dying  Deserter. — One  more 
Move — but  how  ? — My  Loss  and  Selim's  Gain. — Off  for  Home. 
— Federal  Officer  and  Oath  of  Allegiance. — Plea  for  Treason. — 
Sanctity  of  an  Oath. — Resume.— Home. 

IT  was  now  evident  that  I  could  not  avoid 
the  conscription  if  I  remained  longer,  and  yet 
I  could  not  secure  my  pay;  and  how  could  I 
travel  hundreds  of  miles  without  means?  I 
would  have  sold  one  of  my  horses,  but  prices 
were  low  at  Selina,  far  away  from  the  seat  of 
war,  and  the  pay  must  be  in  Confederate  money, 
which  was  of  little  value.  This  sacrifice  I  was 
unwilling  to  make,  especially  as  I  might  need 
every  dollar  I  could  procure  to  help  me  out  of 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  197 

Dixie.  Other  obstacles  lay  across  the  pathway 
of  escape.  Every  military  point  was  guarded, 
and  every  railroad  and  public  highway  under 
military  control.  It  wTas  hence  impossible  for 
nie  to  escape,  traveling  in  citizen's  dress ;  and 
yet  I  had  no  military  commission,  having  left 
the  service  when  I  entered  the  hospital.  I  re 
solved  to  retain  my  officer's  cap  and  martial 
uniform,  and  travel  as  a  Confederate  officer  on 
furlough,  and  if  not  questioned  too  closely  might 
succeed. 

On  the  morning  of  May  26th  I  had  made  all 
the  arrangements  possible  for  the  welfare  of  my 
patients,  and  passing  through  I  looked  each  in 
the  face,  as  a  kindly  farewell  on  my  part,  to 
which  they  might  return  their  adieu  some  days 
after,  when  they  "found  me  missing."  I 
charged  young  Dr.  Reese  to  take  good  care  of 
the  men  till  I  returned,  as  I  thought  of  taking 
my  horses  up  the  Alabama  river  to  place  them 
on  a  farm  for  pasture.  Taking  a  last  look  at 
the  beautiful  town  of  Selma,  with  a  suppressed 
sigh  that  I  should  no  more  enjoy  the  society  of 
its  fair  ladies,  I  embarked  on  the  Great  Repiib- 


198  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

lie  for  Montgomery,  the  capital  of  the  State, 
and  for  a  time  the  capital  of  the  Confederacy. 
I  reached  this  point  in  the  evening,  having 
made  sixty-five  miles  toward  the  north  star. 
I  remained  at  Montgomery  over  night,  and 
managed  to  obtain  a  military  pass  and  trans 
portation  from  this  point  to  Chattanooga,  which 
was  now  in  possession  of  a  large  force  of  Con 
federate  cavalry,  organizing  themselves  into 
guerrilla  bands,  while  the  Federal  forces  held 
the  north  side  of  the  Tennessee.  While  here  it 
seemed  necessary  to  exchange  my  Confederate 
money  into  gold,  as  the  only  sure  means  of 
paying  my  way  when  I  should  reach  the  Fed 
eral  lines.  But  this  was  not  easily  effected. 
The  Confederates  sent  their  gold  to  Europe  by 
millions  to  buy  arms  and  munitions  of  war, 
relying  upon  the  patriotism  of  the  people  to 
keep  up  the  credit  of  the  national  currency; 
and  lest  brokers  should  undertake  to  depreciate 
it,  they  passed  a  law  imposing  a  heavy  penalty 
upon  any  one  who  should  discount  Confederate 
notes.  For  a  time  this  succeeded  in  keeping 
up  the  credit  of  the  circulating  medium ;  but 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  199 

all  gold  disappeared,  and  silver  change  was 
unknown.  But  as  I  must  have  gold,  I  walked 
into  a  broker's  office  and  stated  that  I  wished 
to  purchase  seven  ounces  of  gold,  and  exhibited 
a  roll  of  Confederate  notes.  After  a  little 
figuring,  he  said  seven  ounces  would  cost  me 
two  hundred  and  seventy  dollars  of  my  money. 
I  replied,  "  Weigh  it  out." 

"Bullion  or  coin?" 

I  answered  that  coin  was  more  convenient  to 
carry.  The  coin  was  weighed,  and  I  retired, 
wondering  if  anybody  had  broken  the  law 
forbidding  the  discount  of  Confederate  scrip. 

After  leaving  Montgomery  by  the  railroad 
train  for  Chattanooga  on  the  morning  of  the 
27th,  I  fell  in  with  a  soldier  whose  name  I  must 
for  the  sake  of  his  family,  who  showed  me  great 
kindness,  conceal.  He  said  he  wras  going  home 
on  furlough.  As  I  then  suspected  and  after 
ward  learned,  he  Avas  deserting,  while  I  was 
escaping.  A  fellow-feeling,  though  at  first 
unconfessed  to  each  other,  drew  us  together, 
and  at  length  I  learned  his  whole  history.  My 
greater  caution  and  accustomed  reticence,  gave 


200  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

him  but  a  meager  idea  of  my  adventures  or 
purposes.  His  story,  reaffirmed  to  me  when 
near  death  some  weeks  later,  is  worth  recital, 
especially  as  it  illustrates  both  the  strength  of 
the  Rebel  Government,  and  the  desperate 
lengths  to  which  they  go  in  pressing  men  into 
the  service. 

The  conscription  act  passed  by  the  Confeder 
ate  Congress  went  into  operation  on  May  16th, 
1862.  By  this  law  all  able-bodied  white  male 
citizens,  between  the  ages  of  eighteen  and  thirty- 
five,  were  actually  taken  into  the  service ;  that 
is,  they  were  taken  from  their  homes,  placed  in 
camps  of  instruction,  and  forwarded  to  the  ar 
mies  in  the  field  as  fast  as  needed.  Another 
clause  of  the  act  required  the  enrolling  of  all 
between  the  ages  of  thirty-five  and  fifty-five 
years,  as  a  reserve  militia,  to  serve  in  their  own 
State  in  case  of  invasion.  As  their  States  have 
all  been  "  invaded,"  this  virtually  sweeps  into 
the  Southern  army  all  white  men  able  to  bear 
arms  between  eighteen  and  fifty-five  years  of 
age.  Another  clause  provided  that  all  persons 
then  in  the  army,  under  eighteen  and  over 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  201 

thirty-five,  might  return  home  discharged  from 
the  service  within  ninety  days  after  the  act  took 
effect,  provided  their  regiments  were  filled  up 
with  conscripts.  By  this  provision  the  regi 
ments  would  be  kept  full.  Still  another  clause 
directed  that  the  twelve-months  men  now  in  the 
service,  should  "be  allowed"  (i.  e.,  required), 
"at  the  expiration  of  their  twelve  months  to 
elect  new  officers,  and  take  the  oath  for  two 
years  or  the  war."  Under  this  last  clause,  the 
reorganization  of  the  twelve-months  volunteers 
was  going  forward  at  Corinth,  when  the  Fifth 
Tennessee  regiment  of  volunteers,  composed  of 
Warren  county  boys,  Colonel  J.  B.  Hill  com 
manding,  determined  they  would  not  be  forced 
to  continue  their  service,  and  especially  out  of 
their  own  State.  Before  this  determination  had 
entirely  taken  form  the  officers  were  apprised 
of  the  disaffection,  and  resolved,  with  true  mili 
tary  decision,  to  forestall  the  threatened  mutiny. 
The  regiment  wras  marched  out  some  distance 
from  camp  and  drilled  for  an  hour  or  two,  and 
then  allowed  to  stack  arms  and  return  to  camp 
for  dinner.  While  in  camp  their  arms  were  re- 


202  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

« 

moved,  and  30,000  men  drawn  up:  15,000  on 
each  side  of  a  hollow  square,  with  a  battery  of 
ten  field-pieces  loaded  with  grape,  gunners  at 
their  post,  occupying  a  third  side,  while  the 
fourth  was  open.  Into  this  space  the  regiment 
was  marched,  without  arms,  and  requested,  all 
of  them  who  were  free  to  do  so,  to  take  the  oath. 
After  its  administration  to  the  regiment  in  a 
body,  the  colonel  said  if  there  were  any  mem 
bers  who  had  not  voluntarily  sworn,  they  could 
step  out  in  front  of  the  ranks.  Six  men  ad 
vanced,  two  of  them  brothers,  and  remonstrated 
that  they  had  cheerfully  volunteered  for  one 
year,  had  served  faithfully,  and  endured  every 
hardship  without  complaint  and  without  fur 
lough  ;  had  left  their  families  without  means  of 
support,  who  must  now  be  suffering ;  that  if 
allowed  to  go  home  and  rest  and  make  some 
provision  for  wife  and  children,  they  would  then 
return.  Colonel  Hill,  who  was  from  the  neigh 
borhood  of  these  men,  knew  the  truth  and  felt 
the  force  of  their  arguments,  and  was  trying  by 
kindness  to  satisfy  their  minds,  when  General 
Beauregard  rode  up  and  asked — 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  203 

"  Colonel  Hill,  do  these  men  refuse  to  swear?" 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"Unless  they  comply,  have  them  shot  to 
morrow  morning  at  ten  o'clock,"  said  the  gen 
eral,  and  rode  away. 

Before  ten  o'clock  they  had  all  taken  the 
oath ;  but  one  of  the  two  brothers,  in  his  rage, 
declared  he  would  desert.  For  this  he  would 
have  been  shot,  had  he  not  acknowledged  him 
self  wrong  and  professed  penitence,  though  his 
resolution  remained  unshaken. 

Some  days  after,  this  brother  was  placed  upon 
picket  duty,  and,  as  the  night  came  on,  he  at 
tempted  to  pass  out  through  the  lines  of  cavalry 
pickets,  when  he  was  shot  in  the  side,  but  not 
dangerously  wounded  as  he  then  thought.  He 
crawled  back  into  his  own  line,  and  then  re 
ported  himself  as  shot  by  a  Federal  picket.  He 
was  taken  to  camp,  the  ball  extracted,  and  he 
sent  to  Atlanta,  Georgia,  to  hospital.  From 
this  place  he  escaped  and  reached  Montgomery 
on  his  way  back  to  "Warren  county,  Tennessee. 
His  wound  healed  externally. 

This  was  the  deserting  soldier  I  met  on  the 


204:  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

cars  as  we  left  Montgomery  for  Chattanooga. 
I  put  him  in  temporary  possession  of  one  of  my 
horses;  we  united  our  destinies,  and  prepared 
for  the  future  as  well  as  we  could. 

We  reached  Chattanooga  on  June  1st,  and  I 
found  it,  to  my  chagrin,  a  military  camp,  con 
taining  7,500  cavalry,  under  strict  military  rule. 
"We  were  now  in  a  trap,  as  our  pass  here  ended, 
and  we  were  near  the  Federal  lines.  How  to 
get  out  of  the  town  was  now  the  problem,  and 
one  of  the  most  difficult  I  had  yet  met  in  my 
study  of  Rebel  topography.  We  put  up  at  the 
Crutchfield  House,  stabled  our  horses,  and  sat 
about  in  the  bar-room,  saying  nothing  to  attract 
attention,  but  getting  all  the  information  possi 
ble.  I  was  specially  careful  not  to  be  recog 
nized.  The  cavalry  company  I  had  commanded 
on  the  long  retreat  from  Nashville,  was  in  Chat 
tanooga  at  this  time.  Had  any  one  of  them 
seen  me,  my  position  would  have  been  doubly 
critical ;  as  it  was,  I  felt  the  need  of  circumspec 
tion.  It  was  clear  to  me  that  we  could  not 
leave  Chattanooga  in  military  garb,  as  we  had 
entered  it,  for,  without  a  pass,  no  cavalryman 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  205 

could  leave  the  lines.  This  settled,  a  walk 
along  the  street,  showed  me  a  Jew  clothing- 
store,  with  suits  new  and  old,  military  and 
agricultural.  My  resolution  was  formed,  and  I 
went  to  the  stable,  taking  with  me  a  newly 
fledged  cavalry  officer,  who  needed  and  was 
able  to  pay  for  an  elegant  cavalry  saddle.  Be 
ing  "hard  up"  for  cash,  I  must  sell:  and  he 
flush  of  money  and  pride,  must  buy.  Thus  I 
was  rid  of  one  chief  evidence  of  the  military 
profession.  A  small  portion  of  the  price  pur 
chased  a  plain  farmer-like  saddle  and  bridle. 
An  accommodating  dealer  in  clothes  next  made 
me  look  quite  like  a  country  farmer  of  the  mid 
dle  class.  My  companion  was  equally  success 
ful  in  transforming  himself,  and  in  the  dusk 
of  the  evening  we  were  passing  out  to  the 
country  as  farmers  who  had  been  in  to,  see  the 
sights. 

We  safely  reached  and  passed  the  outer  pick 
ets,  and  then  took  to  the  woods,  and  struck  in 
toward  the  Tennessee  river,  hoping  to  find  a 
ferry  where  money,  backed,  if  necessary,  by  the 
moral  suasion  of  pistols,  would  put  us  across. 


206  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

I  was  growing  desperate,  and  determined  not  to 
be  foiled.  We  made  some  twelve  miles,  and 
then  rested  in  the  woods  till  morning,  when 
selecting  the  safest  hiding-place  I  could  find,  I 
left  my  companion  with  the  horses  and  started 
out  on  a  reconnoissance. 

Trudging  along  a  road  in  the  direction  of  the 
river,  I  met  a  guileless  man  who  gave  me  some 
information  of  the  name  and  locality  of  a  ferry 
man,  who  had  formerly  acted  in  that  capacity, 
though  now  no  one  was  allowed  to  cross.  Care 
fully  noting  all  the  facts  I  could  draw  out  of 
this  man,  I  strolled  on  and  soon  fell  in  with 
another,  and  gained  additional  light,  one  item 
of  which  was  that  the  old  "  flat"  lay  near,  and 
just  below,  the  ferryman's  house.  Thus  enlight 
ened,  I  walked  on  and  found  the  house  and  my 
breakfast.  Being  a  traveler,  I  secured  without 
suspicion  sandwiches  enough  to  supply  my  com 
panion  with  dinner  and  supper,  which  he  en- 
ioyed  as  he  took  care  of  the  horses  in  the  woods. 
A  circuitous  route  brought  me  to  them,  and  I 
was  pleased  to  see  the  horses  making  a  good 
meal  from  the  abundant  grass.  This  was  a» 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  207 

important  point,  as  our  lives  might  yet  depend 
upon  their  speed  and  endurance. 

I  laid  before  my  companion  the  rather  dubious 
prospect,  that  the  orders  were  strict  that  no  mail 
should  be  ferried  across  the  river ;  the  ferryman 
was  faithful  to  the  South ;  he  had  been  con 
scientious  in  his  refusal  to  many  applications ; 
no  sum  would  induce  him  to  risk  his  neck,  &c. 
All  this  I  had  heard  from  his  lips,  backed  with 
a  quantum  sufficit  of  oaths,  which  for  once  I  was 
rather  willing  to  hear,  having  already  learned 
that  the  man  who  accompanies  his  statements 
with  a  gratuitous  and  profuse  profanity,  is  not 
usually  brave  to  make  them  good  when  the  trial 
comes.  To  his  boastful  words  that  "  no  white- 
livered  traitor  to  the  Southern  cause  should 
ever  cross  that  ferry  to  give  information  to  the 
Yankees,"  I  fully  assented,  and  advised  him  to 
be  doubly  on  his  guard,  as  the  Federals  were 
not  far  off,  not  hinting  that  I  wanted  to  cross. 
Yet  my  purpose  was  formed :  we  must  cross 
the  river  that  night,  and  this  man  must  take  us 
over,  as  there  was  no  other  hope  of  escape. 
Having  laid  the  plan  before  my  companion,  as 


208  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

evening  drew  on  I  again  sought  the  cabin  of 
the  retired  ferryman.  My  second  appearance 
was  explained  by  the  statement  that  I  had  got 
off  the  road,  and  wandering  in  the  woods,  had 
come  round  to  the  same  place.  This  was  lit 
erally  true,  though  I  must  admit  it  did  not  give 
to  him  an  impression  of  the  whole  truth.  A 
rigid  casuist  might  question  the  truthfulness  of 
my  statement  to  the  Secession  ferryman ;  but  a 
man  fleeing  for  his  life,  and  hunted  by  a  relent 
less  enemy,  has  not  much  time  to  settle  ques 
tions  in  casuistry. 

After  taking  supper  with  the  ferryman,  we 
walked  out  smoking  and  chatting.  By  degrees 
I  succeeded  in  taking  him  down  near  the  ferry, 
and  there  sat  down  on  the  bank  to  try  the  effect 
upon  his  avaricious  heart  of  the  sight  of  some 
gold  which  I  had  purchased  at  Montgomery. 
His  eyes  glistened  as  he  examined  an  eagle 
with  unwonted  eagerness,  while  we  talked  of 
the  uncertain  value  of  paper-money,  and  the 
probable  future  value  of  Confederate  scrip. 

As  the  time  drew  near  when  my  companion, 
according  to  agreement,  was  to  ride  boldly  to 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  209 

• 

the  river,  I  stepped  down  to  take  a  look  at  his 
unused  flat.  He,  of  course,  walked  with  me. 
While  standing  with  my  foot  upon  the  end  of 
his  boat,  I  heard  the  tramp  of  the  horses,  and 
said  to  him,  in  a  quiet  tone — "  Here  is  an  eagle ; 
you  must  take  me  and  my  companion  over." 
He  remonstrated,  and  could  not  risk  his  life  for 
tli at,  &c.  Another  ten  dollars  was  demanded 
and  paid,  the  horses  were  in  the  flat,  and  in  two 
minutes  we  were  off  for — home. 

During  that  dark  and  uncertain  voyage,  I 
had  time  not  only  to  coax  into  quietness  my 
restive  horse,  but  also  to  conclude  that  it  would 
never  do  to  dismiss  our  Charon  on  the  other 
bank,  as  half  an  hour  might  put  on  our  track  a 
squad  of  cavalry,  who,  in  our  ignorance  of  the 
roads  and  country,  would  soon  return  us  to 
Rebeldom  and  a  rope.  A  man  who  would  take 
twenty  dollars  for  twenty  minutes'  work,  after 
swearing  that  his  conscience  would  not  allow 
him  to  disobey  the  authorities,  was  not  to  be 
trusted  out  of  your  sight.  Standing  near  my 
companion,  I  whispered — "This  man  must  pilot 

us  to  some  point  you  will  know."    I  should  have 
14 


210  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

stated  that  this  deserting  soldier  was  within  sixty 
miles  of  his  home,  and  had  some  knowledge  of 
the  localities  not  far  north  from  our  present 
position.  With  this  purpose,  I  arranged,  when 
we  touched  the  bank,  to  be  in  the  rear  of  the 
ferryman,  and  followed  him  as  he  stepped  off 
the  boat  to  take  breath  before  a  return  pull. 
"Now,  my  good  fellow,"  said  I,  "you  have 
done  us  one  good  turn  for  pay,  you  must  do  an 
other  for  friendship.  We  are  strangers  here, 
and  you  must  take  us  to  the  foot  of  Waldon's 
Ridge,  and  then  we  will  release  you."  To  this 
demand  he  demurred  most  vigorously ;  but  my 
determined  position  between  him  and  the  boat, 
gentle  words,  and  an  eloquent  exhibition  of  my 
six-shooter,  the  sheen  of  which  the  moonlight 
enabled  him  to  perceive,  soon  ended  the  parley, 
and  onward  he  moved.  We  kept  him  in  the 
road  slightly  ahead  of  us,  with  our  horses  on 
his  two  flanks,  and  chatted  as  sociably  as  the 
circumstances  would  permit.  I  am  not  careful 
to  justify  this  constrained  service  exacted  of  the 
ferryman,  further  than  to  say,  that  I  was  now 
visiting  upon  the  head,  or  rather  the  legs,  of  a 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  211 

real  Secessionist,  for  an  hour  or  two,  just  what 
for  many  months  they  had  inflicted  upon  me. 
For  six  long  miles  we  guarded  our  prisoner- 
pilot,  and,  reaching  the  foot  of  the  mountain, 
the  summit  of  which  would  reveal  to  my  friend 
localities  which  he  could  recognize,  and  from 
which  he  could  tell  our  bearings  and  distances, 
we  called  a  halt.  After  apologizing  for  our 
rudeness  on  the  plea  of  self-preservation,  and 
thanking  him  for  his  enforced  service,  we  bade 
him  good-night,  not  doubting  that  he  would 
reach  the  river  in  time  to  ferry  himself  over  be 
fore  daylight,  and  console  his  frightened  wife 
by  the  sight  of  the  golden  bribe. 

We  were  now,  at  eleven  o'clock  at  night, 
under  the  shadow  of  a  dark  mountain,  and 
with  no  knowledge  of  the  course  we  were  to 
take,  other  than  the  general  purpose  of  pressing 
northward. 

After  making  some  miles  of  headway  and 
rising  several  hundred  feet,  we  struck  off  at  a 
right  angle  from  the  road,  worked  our  way  for 
a  mile  among  the  rocks,  and  tying  our  horses, 
lay  down  under  an  overhanging  cliff  and  tried 


212  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

to  sleep.  But  I  wooed  Somnus  in  vain.  My 
brain  and  heart  were  too  full.  On  the  verge  of 
a  Canaan,  for  which  I  had  looked  and  strug 
gled  during  thirteen  wearisome  months,  would 
I  now  reach  it  in  peace,  or  must  other  perils  be 
encountered,  and  I  perhaps  thrust  back  into  a 
dungeon  to  meet  a  deserter's  fate?  The  future 
was  still  uncertain,  and  my  mind  turned  back 
ward,  recalling  childhood's  joys  and  a  mother's 
undying  love.  Oh,  how  I  longed  for  one  gen 
tle  caress  from  her  soft  hand  to  soothe  me  into 
sleep,  and  how  vividly  came  back  to  my  mem 
ory  words  committed  long  ago, — words  which, 
with  slight  change,  tenderly  expressed  the 
longing  of  my  spirit  that  night.  I  sank  into 
forgetfulness,  repeating  over  and  over  those 
sweet  strains : 

"  Backward,  turn  backward,  0  Time,  in  your  flight ; 
Make  me  a  child  again,  just  for  to-night ! 
Mother,  come  back  from  the  far-distant  shore, 
Take  me  again  to  your  heart  as  of  yore ; 
Over  my  slumbers  your  loving  watch  keep, — 
Rock  me  to  sleep,  mother— rock  me  to  sleep. 

"  Backward,  flow  backward,  0  tide  of  the  years ! 
I  am  so  weary  of  toils  and  of  tears, 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  213 

Toil  without  recompense. — tears  all  in  vain, — 
Take  them,  and  give  me  my  childhood  again. 
I  have  grown  weary  of  dust  and  decay, 
Weary  of  flinging  my  soul-wealth  away, 
Weary  of  sowing  for  others  to  reap, — 
Hock  me  to  sleep,  mother — rock  me  to  sleep. 

"  Tired  of  the  hollow,  the  base,  the  untrue, 
Mother,  0  mother,  my  heart  calls  for  you. 
Two  weary  summers  the  grass  has  grown  green, 
Blossomed,  and  faded,  our  faces  between ; 
Yet  with  strong  yearning  and  passionate  pain, 
Long  I  to-night  for  your  presence  again  ; 
Come  from  the  silence  so  long  and  so  deep, — 
Rock  me  to  sleep,  mother — rock  me  to  sleep. 

"  Over  my  heart  in  days  that  are  flown, 
No  love  like  mother-love  ever  has  shone  ; 
No  other  fondness  abides  and  endures, 
Faithful,  unselfish,  and  patient,  like  yours. 
None  like  a  mother  can  charm  away  pain 
From  the  sick  soul  and  the  world-weary  brain ; 
Slumber's  soft  dews  o'er  my  heavy  lids  creep,— 
Rock  me  to  sleep,  mother— rock  me  to  sleep. 

"  Come,  let  your  brown  hair,  lighted  with  gold, 
Fall  on  your  shoulders  again  as  of  old  ; 
Let  it  fall  over  my  forehead  to-night, 
Shading  my  eyes  from  the  moon's  pallid  light, 
For  with  its  sunny-edged  shadows  once  more 
Happily  throng  the  sweet  visions  of  yore  ; 
Lovingly,  softly  its  bright  billows  sweep, — 
Rock  me  to  sleep,  mother— rock  me  to  sleep. 


214:  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

"  Mother,  dear  mother,  the  years  have  been  long, 
Since  last  I  was  hushed  by  your  lullaby  song  ; 
Sing  then,  and  unto  my  soul  it  shall  seem 
That  the  years  of  my  boyhood  have  been  but  a  dream  ; 
Clasp  your  lost  son  in  a  loving  embrace, 
Your  love -lighted  lashes  just  sweeping  my  face, 
Never  hereafter  to  part  or  to  weep, — 
Bock  me  to  sleep,  mother— rock  me  to  sleep." 

On  the  morning  of  June  the  third  the  sun 
rose  beautifully  over  the  Cumberland  Moun 
tains,  flooding  the  valley  of  the  Sequatchie,  as 
we  descended  into  it  with  lighter  hearts  than 
we  had  felt  for  many  a  day.  As  we  rode  down 
the  mountain,  my  companion  recognized  the 
localities  in  the  distance,  and  described  the 
route  which,  in  so  many  miles,  would  bring  us 
to  his  father's  house.  His  side  hurt  him  severe 
ly  that  day,  as  the  hardships  of  the  way  had 
given  him  a  cold,  which  threatened  to  inflame 
and  reopen  the  wound  he  had  received  in  at 
tempting  to  escape  through  the  cavalry  picket. 
He  talked  much  of  home,  and  was  sure  his 
mother  could  cure  him.  Poor  fellow  !  he  was 
already  beyond  his  mother's  help,  though  I  did 
not  then  suspect  it. 

By  nine   o'clock  we  reached  a  farm-house, 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  215 

whose  inmates,  without  many  troublesome  in 
quiries,  agreed  to  feed  our  half-starved  horses 
and  give  us  some  breakfast.  My  noble  Selirn 
sorely  needed  food  and  grooming,  and  I  could 
not  but  wish  for  a  few  days  of  rest  for  him.  He 
had  been  my  companion  in  many  a  wild  dash, 
and  had  learned  to  respond  to  my  patting  of 
his  finely-arched  neck  with  a  pricking  up  of  his 
ears  and  a  toss  of  his  head,  as  much  as  to  say, 
"I  am  ready."  "When  first  I  formed  Selim's 
acquaintance  he  was  wild  and  self-willed,  and, 
as  already  related,  gave  me  a  blow  upon  the 
knee  from  wrhich  I  have  not  yet  entirely  recov 
ered.  But  I  had  long  ago  forgiven  him  this 
unkindness,  for  he  had  carried  me  through  all 
that  terrible  retreat  from  Nashville,  had  never 
failed  me  when  a  hard  and  hazardous  scout  was 
on  hand,  had  stood  quietly  at  Corinth  while  I 
lost  two  of  his  companions  on  the  battle-field  of 
Shilok,  and  then,  as  if  grateful  that  I  had  saved 
him  from  their  fate,  he  ever  after  served  me 
with  entire  docility.  At  Selma  he  bore  me  on 
many  a  pleasant  jaunt  beside  some  fair  one  of 
that  pleasant  town,  and  now  he  was  with  proud 


216  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

step  bearing  me  toward  my  long-desired  home. 
Did  he  not  deserve  my  special  care  ? 

Everybody  we  met  was  Secession,  and  took 
for  granted  we  were.  Was  I  not  demonstrating 
my  sentiments,  by  seceding  from  a  government 
which  affirmed  the  right  in  its  fundamental 
law? 

By  the  way,  if  the  South  could  make  good 
their  present  effort  for  an  independent  national 
existence,  they  would  immediately  change  that 
provision  by  which  they  allow  each  State  to 
withdraw  at  pleasure.  The  impression  among 
the  thinking  minds  with  them  is  already  fixed, 
that  the  principle  is  destructive  of  all  perma 
nent  national  authority,  and  existence  even.  A 
practical  and  almost  fatal  illustration  of  the 
principle  of  secession  was  given  at  Corinth  just 
after  the  battle  of  Shiloh. 

The  Arkansas  authorities,  fearing  the  power 
of  the  Federal  forces,  required  all  the  troops 
from  their  State  to  return  home  and  protect 
their  own  citizens.  General  Hindman,  who 
commanded  the  Arkansas  troops,  was  in  favor 
of  returning  to  their  own  State ;  but  Beau  regard, 


IN    THE    KEBEL    ARMY.  217 

as  conmander-in-chief  of  the  "Western  army,  re 
sisted  the  demand.  Excitement  ran  high,  and 
mutiny  was  imminent  for  some  days.  Nothing 
but  the  resolute  bearing  of  General  Beauregard, 
threatening  to  shoot  the  first  man  who  should 
attempt  to  leave,  saved  the  Rebel  army  from 
destruction ;  for  if  the  troops  of  one  State  had 
been  allowed  to  withdraw  on  the  plea  of  pro 
tecting  their  own  borders,  why  should  not  all  ? 
This  was  well  understood,  and  hence  resisted 
resolute!/  and  successfully.  At  a  later  day, 
and  as  if  in  pursuance  of  a  general  plan,  the 
Arkansas  troops  did  go  home;  and  thus  they 
avoided  a  mutiny,  which,  had  it  been  fully  de 
veloped,  would  have  involved  at  least  10,000 
men.  So  rigid  is  the  surveillance  of  the  press, 
that  no  publication,  so  far  as  I  know,  was  ever 
made  of  this  affair,  which  threatened  the  disin- 
tegracion  of  the  whole  Rebel  army. 

To  return,  we  made  some  thirty  miles,  and 
ascending  the  Cumberland  range  in  the  even 
ing,  we  again  sought  rest  among  the  rocks. 
This  we  judged  safest,  since  we  knew  not  who 
might  have  seen  us  during  the  day,  of  an  in- 


218  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

quiring  state  of  mind,  as  to  our  purpose  and 
destination. 

On  the  morning  of  June  4th,  by  a  detour  to 
conceal  the  course  from  which  we  came,  and  a 
journey  of  a  dozen  of  miles,  we  reacted  the 
home  of  my  wounded  friend.  I  shall  not  at 
tempt  to  describe  his  tearful,  joyful  meeting 
with  his  mother  and  three  sisters,  and  the  pride 
of  the  good  old  father  as  he  folded  hi$  soldier- 
boy  to  his  heart.  My  own  emotions  fully  occu 
pied  me  while  their  greetings  lasted.  I  thought 
of  my  own  fond  mother,  who  had  not  heard 
from  me  for  more  than  a  year,  and  was  perhaps 
then  mourning  me  as  dead,  perchance  had  gone 
herself  to  the  tomb  in  grief  for  the  loss  of  her 
first-born  son ;  of  my  reverend  father,  vhose 
wise  counsel  I  had  often  needed  and  longed  for ; 
of  my  sweet  sisters  and  little  brother,  who  every 
day  wondered  if  their  big  brother  still  lived  and 
would  ever  come  home. 

After  a  kindly  greeting  to  the  stranger  who 
had  brought  home  their  wounded  son,  for  they 
never  suspected  either  that  he  had  deserted  or 
that  I  was  escaping  to  the  hated  Yankees,  they 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  219 

introduced  me  to  all  the  comforts  of  their  pleas 
ant  dwelling ;  and  for  the  first  time  for  many 
months  I  began  to  feel  somewhat  secure.  Yet 
they  were  all  Secessionists,  and  talked  constant 
ly  of  the  success  of  the  cause,  and  I  must,  of 
necessity,  conceal  my  views  and  plans. 

The  day  after  our  arrival,  the  wounded  soldier 
took  to  his  bed  and  never  rose  again.  The  hard 
ships  he  had  endured  in  the  journey  home,  act 
ing  upon  a  system  enfeebled  by  his  wound,  ter 
minated  in  inflammation  of  the  lungs,  which 
within  a  week  ended  his  life.  I  watched  by  his 
bed,  nursed  him  carefully,  and  told  him  what 
little  I  knew  of  the  better  world,  trying  to  recall 
all  the  sweet  words  of  comfort  I  had  heard  pious 
people  pour  into  the  ears  of  dying  ones  in  my 
childhood,  when  my  father,  as  pastor,  was  often 
called  to  such  scenes.  I  was  not  an  experienced 
counselor,  but  I  knew  there  was  One  Name  of 
sovereign  power.  That  Name  I  told  him  of  as 
best  I  could.  About  the  12th  of  June  he  passed 
into  the  Dark  Beyond. 

After  the  funeral  ceremonies  were  over,  a  let 
ter  came  from  the  other  brother,  detailing  the 


220  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

manner  in  which  they  had  been  compelled  to 
swear  in  for  the  war,  and  saying  that  he  would 
soon  be  home.  He  had  not  reached  when  I  left 
there.  I  fear  he  failed  in  his  attempt. 

But  one  more  step  was  needed  to  make  me 
safe ;  that  was,  to  get  within  the  Federal  lines, 
take  the  oath  of  allegiance,  and  secure  a  pass. 
But  how  could  this  be  accomplished  ?  Should 
the  Federal  authorities  suspect  me  of  having 
been  in  the  Rebel  service,  would  they  allow  me 
to  take  the  oath  and  go  my  way  ?  I  knew  not ; 
but  well  I  knew  the  Confederate  officers  were 
never  guilty  of  such  an  absurdity.  Judging 
others  by  themselves,  they  put  little  confidence 
in  the  fact  that  A.  B.  has  sworn  to  this  or  that ; 
and  hence  they  watch  him  as  carefully  after  as 
before.  The  North  should  know  that  oaths 
taken  by  Southerners  before  provost-marshals, 
in  recovered  cities  such  as  Memphis,  Nashville, 
&c.,  are  not  taken  to  be  observed,  as  a  general 
rule.  They  are  taken  as  a  matter  of  necessity, 
and  with  a  mental  reservation,  that  when  the 
interests  of  their  State  demands,  they  are  freed 
from  the  obligation.  That  this  is  a  startling 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  221 

statement  I  admit,  and  if  called  on  for  the  proof 
I  might  find  it  difficult  to  produce  it ;  and  yet 
from  what  I  saw  and  heard  scores  of  times,  and 
in  different  parts  of  the  South,  I  know  it  to  be 
indubitably  true. 

An  incident  which  occurred  about  the  20th 
of  June,  both  endangered  my  escape  and  yet 
put  me  upon  the  way  of  its  accomplishment. 
I  rode  my  pet  Selim  into  the  village  of  McMinn- 
ville,  a  few  miles  from  the  place  of  my  sojourn, 
to  obtain  information  as  to  the  proximity  of  the 
Federal  forces,  and,  if  possible,  devise  a  plan  of 
getting  within  their  lines  without  exciting  sus 
picion.  As  Selim  stood  at  the  hotel,  to  the 
amazement  of  every  one,  General  Dumont's 
cavalry  galloped  into  town,  and  one  of  the 
troopers  taking  a  fancy  to  my  horse,  led  him  off 
without  my  knowledge,  and  certainly  without 
my  consent.  My  only  consolation  was,  that  my 
noble  Selim  was  now  to  do  service  in  the  loyal 
ranks.  My  best  wish  for  my  good  steed  is,  that 
he  may  carry  some  brave  United  States  officer 
over  the  last  prostrate  foe  of  this  ever-glorious 
Union. 


222  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

The  cavalry  left  the  town  in  a  few  hours,  after 
erecting  a  flag-staff  and  giving  the  Stars  and 
Stripes  to  the  breeze.  Within  a  few  days  a 
squad  of  Morgan's  cavalry  came  in,  cut  down 
the  staff,  and  one  of  them  rolling  up  the  flag 
and  strapping  it  behind  his  saddle,  left  word 
where  General  Dumont  could  see  the  flag  if  he 
chose  to  call. 

I  left  soon  after  the  Federals  did,  but  in  an 
opposite  direction,  with  my  final  plan  perfected. 
Spending  two  or  three  days  more  with  my  kind 
friends  on  the  farm,  I  saddled  my  remaining 
horse,  and  telling  the  family  I  might  not  return 
for  some  time,  I  rode  through  McMinnville,  and 
then  direct  for  Murfreesboro,  at  that  time  in 
possession  of  the  Union  forces.  When  hailed 
by  the  pickets,  a  mile  from  the  town,  I  told 
them  I  wished  to  see  the  officer  in  command. 
They  directed  me  where  to  find  him,  and  al 
lowed  me  to  advance.  They  knew  far  less  of 
Southern  cunning  than  I  did,  or  they  would  not 
have  allowed  me  to  ride  into  the  town  without 
a  guard.  When  I  found  the  officer,  I  stated 
that  some  Federal  cavalry  had  taken  my  horse 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  223 

in  McMinnville  a  few  days  ago,  and  I  wished 
to  recover  him.  He  told  me  he  could  give  me 
no  authority  to  secure  my  horse,  unless  I  would 
take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  United  States. 
To  this  I  made  no  special  objection.  "With  a 
seeming  hesitation,  that  I  might  wake  up  no 
suspicion  of  being  different  from  the  masses  of 
farmers  in  that  region,  and  yet  with  a  joy  that 
was  almost  too  great  to  be  concealed,  I  solemnly 
subscribed  the  following  oath  : 

"  I,  A B ,  solemnly  swear,  without 

any  mental  reservation  or  evasion,  that  I  will 
support  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
and  the  laws  made  in  pursuance  thereof ;  and 
that  I  will  not  take  up  arms  against  the  United 
States,  or  give  aid  or  comfort,  or  furnish  infor 
mation,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  any  person  or 
persons  belonging  to  any  of  the  so-styled  Con 
federate  States  who  are  now  or  may  be  in  re 
bellion  against  the  United  States.  So  help  me 
God." 

The  other  side  of  the  paper  contained  a  mili 
tary  pass,  by  authority  of  Lieutenant-colonel  J. 
G.  Parkhurst,  Military  Governor  of  Murfrees- 


224  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

boro.  1  regarded  myself  as  free  from  any  pos 
sible  obligation  to  the  Confederates  when  dis 
charged  from  their  service  on  account  of  my 
wounds  at  Corinth.  In  voluntarily  taking  this 
oath,  I  trust  I  had  some  just  sense  of  its  awful 
solemnity,  for  I  have  never  been  able  to  look 
upon  the  appeal  to  God  in  this  judicial  form  as 
a  light  matter.  How  good  men  can  satisfy 
their  consciences  for  the  deliberate  violation  of 
the  oaths  which  so  many  of  them  have  deliber 
ately  taken  to  support  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  I  know  not.  I  know  what  they 
say  in  self-defence,  for  I  have  often  listened  to 
their  special  pleading.  The  Trpurov  ihsvdo^  as 
my  good  Professor  Owen  of  the  Free  Academy 
would  term  it — the  foundation  falsehood — of 
the  \vhole  Secession  movement,  is  the  doctrine 
of  State  Rights,  as  held  by  the  South.  "  I  owe 
allegiance  to  my  State,  and,  when  it  commands, 
obedience  to  the  United  States."  This  idea  has 
complete  possession  of  the  leading  minds,  and 
a  belief  in  it  accounts  for  the  conduct  of  many 
noble  men,  who  resisted  Secession  resolutely 
until  their  State  was  carried  for  the  Rebellion. 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  225 

Whenever  a  State  act  was  passed  they  yielded, 
and  the  people  were  a  unit. 

In  addition  to  this  fundamental  error,  they 
aver  that  they  are  engaged  in  a  revolution,  not 
a  rebellion ;  and  that  the  right  of  revolution  is 
conceded,  even  by  the  North,  now  endeavoring 
to  force  them  back  into  an  oppressive  and  hated 
union  ;  and  that  if  we  justify  our  fathers  in  for 
swearing  allegiance  to  the  British  crown,  we 
should  not  condemn  the  South  in  refusing  obe 
dience  to  a  Union  already  dissolved.  If  this 
were  as  good  an  argument  as  it  is  a  fallacious 
one,  ignoring  as  it  does  the  total  dissimilarity 
in  the  two  cases,  and  assuming  falsely  that  the 
Uuion  is  already  dissolved,  it  fails  to  justify  the 
individual  oath-breaking  of  many  of  the  leaders 
in  the  revolt.  They  swore  to  support  the  Con 
stitution  of  the  United  States  at  the  very  time 
they  were  meaning  to  destroy  it.  Some  of  them 
took  the  oath  as  Cabinet  officers  and  members 
of  Congress,  that  they  might  have  the  better 
opportunity  to  overthrow  the  government.  The 
truth  must  be  admitted — and  here  lies  the  dark 
est  blot  upon  the  characters  of  the  arch-con- 
15 


226  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

spirators — they  know  not  the  sanctity  of  an  oath, 
nor  regard  its  solemn  pledges  and  imprecations. 
They  have  shown,  it  has  been  eloquently  said, 
the  utmost  recklessness  respecting  the  oath  of 
allegiance  to  the  nation.  Men  who  sneered  at 
the  North  as  teaching  a  higher  law  to  God 
which  should  be  paramount  to  all  terrene  stat 
utes,  have  been  themselves  among  the  first  to 
hold  the  supreme  law  of  the  land  and  their  oath 
of  fealty  and  loyalty  to  that  land,  abrogated  by 
the  lower  law  of  State  claims  and  State  inter 
ests.  It  could  not  be  sin  in  the  man  of  the 
North,  if  God  and  his  country  ever  clashed,  to 
say,  that  well  as  he  loved  his  country,  he  loved 
his  God  yet  more.  But  what  plea  shall  shield 
the  sin  which  claims  to  love  one's  own  petty 
State  better  than  either  country  or  God  ?  They 
have  virtually  tunneled  and  honey-combed  into 
ruin  the  fundamental  obligations  of  the  citizen. 
Jesuitism  had  made  itself  a  name  of  reproach 
by  the  doctrine  of  mental  reservation,  under 
which  the  Jesuit  held  himself  absolved  from 
oaths  of  true  witness-bearing,  which  he  at  any 
time  had  taken  to  the  nation  and  to  God, 


IX    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  227 

if  the  truth  to  be  told  harmed  the  interests  of 
his  own  order,  whose  interests  he  must  shield 
by  a  silent  reservation.  The  lesser  caste,  the 
ecclesiastical  clique,  thus  was  held  paramount 
to  the  entire  nation  ;  and  oaths  of  fidelity  to  the 
religious  order,  a  mere  handful  of  God's  crea 
tures,  rode  over  the  rights  of  the  God  whose 
name  had  been  invoked  to  witness  truth-telling, 
and  over  the  rights  of  God's  whole  race  of  man 
kind,  to  have  the  truth  told  in  their  courts  by 
those  who  had  solemnly  proclaimed  and  delib 
erately  sworn  that  they  would  tell  and  were 
telling  it.  The  State  loyalty  as  being  a  mental 
reservation  evermore  to  abrogate  the  oath  of 
National  loyalty  : — what  is  it  but  a  modern  re 
production  of  the  old  Jesuit  portent  ? 

But  perjury  however  palliated,  and  whether 
in  Old  World  despots  or  in  New  World  anar 
chists,  involves,  in  the  dread  language  of  Scrip 
ture,  the  being  "  clothed  with  cursing  as  witli 
a  garment."  That  terrible  phrase  of  inspiration 
describes,  we  suppose,  not  merely  profuse  pro 
fanity,  but  the  earthly  deception  which  attracts 
the  heavenly  malediction,  the  reply  of  a  mocked 


228  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

God  to  a  defiant  transgressor,  vengeance  invok 
ed,  and  the  invocation  answered.  "  So  HELP  ME 
GOD!"  is  a  phrase  so  often  heard  in  jury-boxes 
and  custom-houses,  beside  the  ballot-box,  and  in 
the  assumption  of  each  civil  office,  that  we  do  not 
at  all  times  gauge  its  dread  depth  of  meaning. 
It  is  not  a  mere  prayer  of  help  to  tell  the  truth, 
but  like  the  kindred  Hebrew  words,  "So  do 
God  to  me  and  more  also !"  it  is  an  invocation 
of  His  vengeance  and  an  abjuration  of  all  His 
further  favor  if  we  palter  with  the  truth.  It 
means,  "If  I  speak  not  truly  and  mean  not 
sincerely,  so  do  I  forswear  and  renounce  hence 
forth  all  help  from  God.  I  hope  not  His  help 
in  the  cares  of  life.  I  hope  not  His  help  for  the 
pardon  of  sin.  I  ask  not  His  grace, — nor  hope 
from  His  smile  in  death, — nor  help  at  His  hand 
into  His  eternal  and  holy  heavens.  All  the  aid 
man  needs  to  ask,  all  the  aid  which  God  has  to 
the  asking  heretofore  lent,  I  distinctly  surren 
der,  if  He  the  truth-seeing  sees  me  now  truth- 
wresting."  Now  the  risk  of  trifling  with  such 
a  thunderbolt  is  not  small.  The  many  noble, 
excellent,  and  Christian  men,  who  may  have 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  229 

been  heedlessly  involved  in  this  Rebellion,  in 
spite  of  past  oaths  to  the  nation,  it  is  not  our 
task  to  judge.  But  the  act  itself,  of  disregard 
ing  such  sworn  loyalty  to  their  whole  country, 
—the  act  in  its  general  principles  apart  from 
all  personal  partakers  in  it, — we  may  and  we 
must  ponder.  Now  in  this  respect,  if  these 
views  of  our  national  oaths  be  just,  our  present 
Rebellion  has  not  been  merely  treasonable,  but 
its  cradle-wrappings,  its  very  swaddling-bands, 
have  been  manifold  layers  of  perjury, — its 
infancy  has  been  "  clad  with  cursing  as  with  a 
garment."  *  Can  a  jealous  God  consolidate  and 
perpetuate  a  power  commenced  in  perjury? 

After  taking  the  oath,  I  told  the* officer  that 
there  were  from  seven  to  ten  thousand  Rebel 
cavalry  at  Chattanooga,  a  detachment  of  whom 
would  surprise  him  some  morning  if  he  was  not 
wide  aw^ake. 

Having  performed  this  first  loyal  act  under 
my  oath,  I  went  out  in  search  of  Selim.  He 
was  not  to  be  found  in  Murfreesboro,  and  a  fur- 


*  Rev.  W.  R.  Williams,  D.  D. 


230  THIRTEEN    MONTHS 

ther  search  would  have  consumed  time  and 
thrown  me  back  toward  the  Rebel  lines.  Over 
joyed  at  my  escape  from  the  last  danger,  and 
not  reluctant  to  make  this  contribution  to  the 
cause  of  my  country,  I  turned  my  now  buoyant 
steps  homeward,  under  the  protection  of  the 
Stars  and  Stripes.  I  rode  into  Nashville  the 
28th  of  June,  with  feelings  widely  different 
from  those  which  crowded  my  breast  when  four 
months  before  I  had  ridden  out  of  it  in  the  rear 
of  General  Johnson's  retreating  army.  I  was 
then,  though  pleased  with  the  excitement  and 
dash  of  cavalry  service,  in  a  cause  where  my 
heart  was  not,  in  a  retreat  from  my  own  friends, 
and  becoming  daily  more  identified  in  the  minds 
of  others  with  the  Rebellion ;  now  I  was  free 
from  its  trammels,  with  my  face  toward  my 
long-lost  home,  with  a  wish  in  my  heart,  which 
has  grown  more  intense  daily,  to  aid  my  coun 
try  in  her  perilous  struggle. 

A  few  hours  at  Nashville  enabled  me  to  see 
my  father's  friend,  who  had  treated  me  so  kind 
ly  when  sick,  and  again  thank  him  for  his  good 
deeds,  and  then  I  left  for  home. 


IN    THE    REBEL    ARMY.  231 

I  will  not  ask  the  reader  to  follow  me  in  my 
rapid  journey  through  Louisville  and  Cincin 
nati,  and  thence  to  ISTew  York.  Nor  need  I 
describe  my  joyful,  tearful,  welcome  reception 
by  father,  mother,  sisters,  and  brother,  as  of 
one  alive  from  the  dead. 

The  story  of  my  life  in  Secessiondom  is  ended. 
If  the  foregoing  pages,  beside  depicting  my  per 
sonal  experience,  have  given  any  facts  of  value 
to  my  bleeding  country — facts  as  to  the  diabol 
ical  barbarism  of  Southern  society  in  trampling 
upon  all  personal  rights — facts  showing  the  in 
tense  and  resolute  earnestness  of  the  whole 
Southern  people  in  the  Rebellion — facts  demon 
strating  the  large  resources  of  the  Rebels  in 
arms  and  men,  and  the  absolute  military  des 
potism  which  has  combined  and  concentrated 
their  power — facts  of  the  atrocious  character  of 
the  guerrilla  system  organized  and  legalized 
among  them — facts  exhibiting  the  efficiency  of 
every  arm  of  their  military  service — facts  show 
ing  the  necessity  of  restrictions  upon  the  free 
dom  of  the  press  in  times  of  war — facts  reveal 
ing  the  demoralizing  influence  of  the  doctrine 


232  THIRTEEN    MONTHS,    ETC. 

of  State  Rights  in  nullifying  national  fealty, 
and  disregarding  the  sanctities  of  an  oath — facts 
which,  if  universally  known  and  duly  regarded, 
would  stir  the  North  to  a  profounder  sense  of 
the  desperate  and  deadly  struggle  in  which 
they  are  engaged  than  they  have  ever  yet  felt 
— then  my  time  and  labor  will  not  have  been 
spent  in  vain. 


THE  END. 


14  DAY  USE 

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